The Nightmare of Amelia Brave
by Mystic Spirit Angel
Summary: Amelia is 15 and has returned to Halloween Town by Jack's request. He gives her control over Halloween for the year! But what happens when there's a new arrival in town, a devilishly handsome vampire by the name of Alucard? Better summary inside.
1. Prologue: A Haunting

**_Summary:_**Amelia is fifteen and is being haunted by some mysterious ghost who strangely looks just like her. Shortly after her first encounter with the spirit, she returns to Halloween Town by Jack's request. Jack is handing over the crown to her, only temporarily, to be in charge of this year's Halloween! But what happens when Amelia begins to become distracted by Halloween Town's latest newcomer, a devilishly handsome vampire by the name of Alucard? Just how does Jack's mysterious past fit into all of this? Read and find out.

**Hello readers! Here it is, the sequel to _The Nightmare on Hallow's Eve. _Read, enjoy, and review! **

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My name is Amelia Brave. I'm your typical, average sixteen year-old. I go to school, I have friends, and I have a good family and a good home. Though, like some girls, I'm the kind that is considered to be on the "weird" side of the popular spectrum. So I like creepy and scary stuff, big whoop. So what if a bat is my favorite animal? _Somebody_ has to like that kind of stuff.

But you see that's only half my life. My other half is a secret that must be kept from everyone else in the known world because no one else knows we exist alongside another realm, a realm where the holidays come to life, _literally_. Oh and just to add a little more to the weird factor, I'm a princess in that realm. Not just any princess, oh no. I am the Princess of Halloween, aka The Pumpkin Princess. How I loathe that last title. Don't ask me why, I just despise it with a passion.

Even more so to add to my double life, I found the realm of the holidays when I was nine. I entered the Jack-o-Lantern shaped door on Hallow's Eve and ended up in a place called Halloween Town. There I was found by The Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington. He is the king of all Halloween and my dearest friend. He helped me to overcome my fears and to defeat the greatest of them all, The Boogie Man. Yeah, it sounds lame but it's the truth and because of my saving the town from the notorious monster, Jack named me his heir to the throne. Oh, did I forget to mention that Jack is an undead skeleton in a pinstripe suit? If you think that's strange well that's pretty much what all the citizens of Halloween Town are, undead. Monsters, zombies, ghosts, ghouls, you name it. Any kind of creature you've seen in your nightmares is a member of this town.

So how do I fit into all of this? Well it's rather simple, a lie. No one in Halloween Town, except Jack, knows that I'm really a human. Everyone there thinks I'm a sorceress because there I have magical powers. How, you ask? It's because any time a human walks into Halloween, they become the costume that they're wearing. I just so happened to be wearing a sorceress costume when I landed there by mistake.

Anyway, where I'm going to start this off is when I was fifteen and hadn't visited Halloween Town since I was twelve. Honestly, I tried to return but it's really hard. Especially since I'm a teenager and my parents do _not_ want me to be outside, alone, at night. However I was able to keep in touch with Jack by sending him letters via the Holiday Doors when I had just the slightest amount of time to go into the woods.

Jumping subjects, my mother had given me the strangest early-birthday gift, which by the way is ten days before Halloween. She gave me this old, Victorian mirror that apparently has been handed down through the generations and it was my turn to receive it. It's a small, silver hand mirror with roses and vines intricately carved into it. It is actually very pretty and I like it, but there's something odd about it. I don't know exactly what, but I had this strange feeling whenever I picked it up. But what happened last year was really bizarre. It all started one night, I was fifteen and it was only three months before my birthday.

It was late in the evening and the mirror was set beside me on my bed and I just stared at it. I grabbed my brush and began to fix my hair using the old mirror.

Suddenly, something like a white fog appeared in the reflection but it vanished as quickly as it came. "That's strange, I thought I saw something." I asked myself, really not sure if I had just simply imagined it.

I shrugged to myself, put the family heirloom on my bedside table, and turned off the light to go to sleep. In the middle of the night, a storm had come in. The thunder rolled, the rain pelted the ground and the roof, and the lightning that cracked in the sky lit up my room. I woke up with a start and looked at my clock to see what time it was, but before I could even register what it read, the power went out.

"Great." I mumbled in my sleepy state.

I blindly reached over to where my oil lamp was, the one Jack had given me five years back, but I accidentally grabbed the hand mirror instead. I looked up to try and possibly see where the lamp was when the lightning yet again illuminated the room. I found myself looking into the mirror and a face that didn't belong to me. It was that of a young woman who had her hair down in dark curls, like you would see back in the Victorian Era. Her expression was sad yet haunting, but that wasn't the scary part. She looked exactly like me. That was all I was able to comprehend before the light from the storm vanished.

I had let out a squeak in surprise and hastily put the mirror face down, back on the nightstand. Unintentionally, I muttered a spell, "_Permissum illic exsisto lux lucis._" The lamp I had originally wanted to grab then lit up by itself and filled the room with its warm glow.

'Wha-what just happened?' was all I could think. First, a strange woman who looked just like me but wasn't appeared in my mirror, and then my powers had worked outside of the holiday realm.

'What's going on!?' was my next thought. 'My magic isn't supposed to work in the human realm!' After a moment had passed and I had calmed down I told myself, 'I've got to talk to Jack about this.'

For some reason, my magical abilities took priority when I really should have started to try to figure out who that Victorian lady was. It really would've saved me a lot of trouble I was about to get into if I had.

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**Ooh, mysterious. What do you think happened? Reveiw and I'll type faster so you can find out. Oh and I promise that the chapters will be longer than this.**


	2. In Charge and Only 15

**Thank you everyone for the reviews! Here is your reward! **

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A soul wanders through a dense forest until she comes upon a circle of tall trees with an odd color of bark. She stands in the center, her figure is transparent. Her long white gown flows in a breeze that is not even there. Her hair that was once in an elegant bun hung down in loose, messy locks. Her skin is pale as is her hair. She turns toward you and softly, yet loud enough to be heard, she speaks.

_T'was a long time ago, longer now than it seems_

_In a place that perhaps you've seen in your dreams_

_For the story you're about to be told_

_Began with a mystery, centuries old_

_However, this tale won't begin there_

_Instead, it's already begun as a living nightmare_

_What happens now to our little Princess Ami_

_When she gets caught in between a vampire and our Pumpkin King?_

_This Halloween tale is about fate_

_Paths crossing, destiny, and heartbreak_

_I will tell you of this strange mystery_

_Involving a murder, lost in history._

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A young, fifteen year-old girl with dark blonde hair held up in a ponytail walked along a path in the woods during the dark hours of the night. The moonlight shone in her ocean blue eyes as she came into a clearing in the center of a circle of trees. She wasn't tall but she wasn't short either. She wore a black and purple tattered, floor-length gown with long sleeves that belled out around her skinny arms. A strong breeze picked up, blowing her strange costume in a way that gave her a haunting demeanor. Around her head was a silver circlet with a blue tear-drop gem in the front also reflected the moon's pale yellow light. Deathly silent, she slowly raised her hand to one of the trees that had a door in the shape of a Jack-O-Lantern, grasped it, and pulled it open.

A black wind came howling out of the hollow tree, picking up leaves as it encircled the young girl. It then quickly sucked her into the tree and she never made a sound. The pumpkin door then slammed shut and the sound echoed into the night. Nothing then was left to tell of her presence once standing there in the circle of trees.

However, the cold, bleak silence on the other side of the portal was broken.

"AAAHHHH!!" The girl in the purple and black outfit let out an "_Oof!_" as she landed flat on her back. "Oww…" she gazed up into the night sky, "That never happened before. These past few days have been nothing but weird. First the mirror, then my magic, and now this"

She got up on her feet and brushed the dirt off herself before she started to walk down the old dirt path that led into town.

"I'm sure I've woken up the entire town by now." The teenager mumbled as she drug her feet as she walked along the road. "It would be ironic if I did because then I would've woke the dead." She then reached into her pocket and brought out a letter, "I wonder why Jack wanted me to come as soon as possible, must be really urgent." She then folded the letter back up and stuffed it into her pocket.

A few minutes after she arrived into town, she walked up to a house that looked like that of a warped home in a children's story book, only creepier. She opened the gate and winced as it creaked, the last thing she wanted to do was really wake someone up. She quietly tip-toed over to the side of the house, looked up and sees a balcony. With hardly any effort at all, she rose into the air and up to the open terrace above her. She landed gracefully outside the large window and reached out to the handle of the sliding-glass door. When she pulled on it, the glass wouldn't move. She glared at it in frustration when she realized it was locked. She reached into one of her long sleeves and brought out a small brown book with an emerald encircled by diamonds on the cover.

She opened it to the page she needed and outstretched her hand toward the door, "_Effrego obfirmo_." She whispered.

A faint 'click' was heard. She tried the door again, this time it slid open with ease. She smirked in triumph and entered the room. She looked around and saw that the bedroom door was closed and no other presence was in there besides her. She let out a sigh of relief before yawning. She walked over to the bed, then took off her shoes, and placed her circlet crown on the beside table. She then got under the covers and began to drift off into a peaceful slumber. 'I missed this place so much.' was her last fleeting thought before she succumbed to a blissful sleep.

The pumpkin sun's light slowly filled her room with its warm glow, gently rousing her from her slumber. Her eyes opened slowly to reveal her beautiful blue orbs, the same color as the gem on her crown that had been set on the nightstand. Quietly, she sat up and stretched her arms above her head. She pulled the covers completely off of her and got out of bed. She walked over to the large, full-length mirror in a corner of the room and made a disgusted face at what she saw. Her hair was an absolute mess. Shaking her head, she turned to the chest of drawers and pulled out one of the small ones on the top row. She reached in and grabbed a brush. Then, yanking out her hair tie she brushed out the knots and tangles in her almost waist-length hair. The sun's light made her natural highlights glimmer in the morning daylight. She then put her hair up into a ponytail and then turned back to the mirror.

"Much better." She smiled and looked at her crown still on the bedside table, "Should I wear it or not?" she asked herself aloud. She shrugged her shoulders, grasped the silver circlet, and gently placed it upon her head. The blue gem sparkled radiantly from the sun's beams. She smiled at her appearance again and for some reason, the memory of the woman appearing in her hand mirror flashed in her mind. She looked into her mirror confused but decided to just shrug the whole thing off as just a hallucination. She then headed toward her door.

"I'm sure he's up by now," she said as she glanced at the grandfather clock.

She then exited her room and walked down the corridor until she reached the spiral stairwell. An idea popped into her head and she smirked mischievously. She levitated herself and ascended the stairs by gliding just above them. She reached the top of the staircase and saw an extremely tall skeleton in a pinstripe suit, looking out his windows toward town, he seemed as though he was lost in his thoughts. Grinning wickedly again, she made her way across the room, moving nearer to him, still levitated above the tile floor as not to make a sound.

"BOO!!" she shouted. What happened next was a sight that amused her greatly.

The skeleton jumped high in the air, like a startled cat, and whipped around with a shocked expression on his face.

The young sorceress landed her feet on the ground while pointing her finger in his direction, laughing hysterically. "Got you Jack!" she laughed again.

"Amelia!?" Jack said, still recovering from actually being snuck up on by the young girl.

"And you call yourself the _Master_ of Fright?" she put her hands on her hips, her laughter had reduced to snickers.

Jack glared at her, but apparently her amusement was contagious because he started to chuckle as well. "Ok, ok I'll give you that one." It finally registered in his mind that the young girl who stood before him was indeed the little frightened child that he had met all those years ago, "Ami, is that really you?"

"The one and only!" she grinned proudly.

"Ha! I didn't recognize you at first!" Jack laughed, "My how you've grown, you look fantastic!"

"Thanks." She blushed at the compliment.

He held his arms out for a hug to which she gratefully complied. "You've certainly shot up." He commented when they finally released each other.

It was true. She now hit him a few inches below his shoulder where as when she was little she had barely reached up to his waist.

Amelia beamed up at him. "What is it that you needed me so urgently?"

"Oh, that's right!" Jack snapped his fingers as he remembered why he had sent her that letter, "Come over here," he gestured for her to come closer to the window. "Tell me what you see." He spoke, looking out toward the city as she walked up and stood next to him.

"Um…Halloween Town?" She answered with confusion.

"Precisely!" he said with enthusiasm.

She looked up to him and raised an eyebrow, "I'm sorry Jack, but I'm not following."

He looked at her and smiled, "Halloween Town is all yours!"

"What!?" she exclaimed, much to his amusement because he then started laughing.

"That's just a little payback," he states and she heaves a sigh of relief, "But," he continued, "I am actually rather serious."

"Huh!?" her shock returned.

"You see Amelia," he looked back toward the town, "I'm handing the reins of this year's Halloween over to you. I want to see what you're capable of for when the day comes that you do take the throne and everything that comes with it." He then turned back toward her.

"Ohh," she finally understood, but then a thought occurred to her, "But Halloween is only three months away! Surely I need more time than that!" she spoke directly to him.

"Yes but you already have the theme for the celebration." He stated.

"I do?" she was having the worst day so far trying to understand the Pumpkin King's strange logic.

"Yes, I would like to see you incorporate how humans celebrate Halloween into our Halloween!" he gestured toward the city below them.

"Oh I see!" her mind had begun to come up with many ideas for what they could do. "But is this even ok with the townspeople?"

"Ah, already thinking like a true leader." He stated before answering, "Yes they agreed, it wasn't easy convincing them at first, but I finally persuaded them to see my point of view." He looked off to the side away from her, "Which would be that I promised that you would have an entirely original celebration that the town was sure to enjoy."

"Oh thanks, no pressure at _all_." She said sarcastically. "Besides, I'm not sure if I can run a town yet all by myself, let _alone_ an entire holiday."

"Don't worry," he looked back at her, "I'll be there to help you every step of the way, promise."

She smiled up at him, silently giving her thanks for the comforting thought.

Suddenly, loud barks were heard and a ghostly dog with long ears zoomed into the room. He flew right through the young sorceress before he turned around and nuzzled her face.

"I missed you too Zero!" she giggled at the dog's sweet intentions. She patted him on the head which earned her a happy smile from the floating spirit. "Did Jack tell you that I'm in charge of Halloween this year?"

The ghost dog nodded gleefully and flew upward and zoomed around in a circle.

"I can tell you're excited." She laughed as Zero then flew around her in an upward spiral.

"Alright Ami," Jack clapped his hands together, "We're holding a town meeting tonight and you'll be announcing your big plans for Halloween."

Her eyes went wide as she turned to face him, "What!? I don't have anything organized yet! I-I need time to work on this!"

"Exactly! That's why we need to get to work straight away!" He began to walk over to his vast library, "I know you can do it, I have complete faith in you. After all, you are the _expert_ on how humans celebrate our horrible holiday!" He climbed his ladder that slid along the bookcase and began searching through some of the books.

"Um, what are you looking for?" she asked.

"A book about humans and their holiday traditions. I know I have one here somewhere." He scratched the top of his head and then pushed himself over to the next set of books. He pulled out one and skimmed a few of the pages, "Ah ha! Here it is!" he exclaimed as he shut the book and climbed down the ladder.

He walked over to the teen sorceress and handed her the book. She began looking through a few of the pages, her eyebrow quirked as she read. She then flipped back to one of the first pages, "Copyright 1901. Jack you realize that this book is a _little_ out-dated right?"

He scratched the back of his head and laughed sheepishly, "I suppose it is." He then took the book and placed it back in its proper place on one of the shelves. "Well then I suppose we'll start from scratch." He began to walk toward his desk but then he suddenly turned on his heel to face her, "Oh and by the way, that _scaring_ me bit that you did, never leaves this room."

"Of course Jack." She smiled and nodded politely. When he turned back around she muttered under her breath, "_Scaredy_ skeleton."

He whipped around again and narrowed his eyes at her. She just smiled innocently and waved her hand.

"You've certainly gained a sharp tongue, haven't you?" He smirked, arching a would-be eyebrow.

She just put a hand on her hip and stuck her chin up in the air as she walked past him toward his desk.

Jack just shook his head and smiled.

She sat down at his desk in his tall chair and snapped her fingers. Sketch paper and a few pencils appeared. His eyes widened in surprise to see that she has already learned a few new tricks on her own. She began to jot down notes of what she wanted for the celebration and, using another piece of paper, began to sketch out decorations. Jack was impressed at how fast she worked and her artistic abilities. Sure she didn't have the most legible handwriting in the world but her sketches were amazing. She depicted the town square really well and her décor ideas were astounding.

"Interesting," he muttered as he grasped his chin in thought and he studied her drawings.

She apparently didn't hear him because she kept on writing her scrawl across the one paper and then sketching it out on the other. This went on for a few hours before she was finally finished. She ended up with many drawings of different places in the town and many, many notes.

She let out a deep breath from exhaustion, "Have a look." She gestured toward her pile.

He eagerly picked up the sketches nodding his head in approval. He was also able to interpret her notes and really liked the overall plan. "Yes, this will do quite nicely!" he turned toward her, "Excellent job Ami! Very impressive." He set her plans back on the desk and placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's only been a few hours and I'm already even more proud of you."

She smiled up at him but she looked back down as she felt a light blush begin to spread its way across her cheeks. "Thank you."

"Well I think we've been inside long enough," he spoke as he removed his hand and began to walk toward the staircase, "What do you say we walk around town for a bit?" he turned around and smiled at her.

"You bet!" she exclaimed excitedly, quickly got up from the chair and hurried down the stairs.

"You haven't changed a bit." He laughed and followed her down.

When they got outside, they didn't even get half way to the town square before they were stopped by someone.

"Well if it isn't the little terror!" The taller one of the petite witches greeted.

"How dreadful it is to see you again Amelia." The shorter one spoke.

"Oh yes, how awful it is to be back!" said sorceress was now very fluent in "Halloween speak."

"Oh wait, we should be addressing her as _princess_ now." The taller one stated and then bowed, her companion quickly following the example.

"Please, that isn't necessary." Said royal waved her hand for emphasis.

"Oh but it is!" the smaller witch exclaimed after standing straight again.

"Not everyday Halloween Town has a new royal you know." The other witch commented. "I can't wait until the town meeting tonight."

"Yes and what a horrible announcement it will be!" the shorter one piped in. They both let out a high-pitched cackle and went on their way.

"A horrible one indeed!" the young sorceress proclaimed before she and Jack resumed their leisurely walk through the town.

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**Ooohhh She's going to be in charge of Halloween! O What will happen?? Review and I type faster :)**


	3. Town Meeting

**Hello!! Thanks so much for the awesome reviews! Your reviews made me type faster! Yay!! Hope you all like it! **

**-Mystic Spirit Angel**

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The time for the town meeting to commence approached much faster than Amelia had expected

The time for the town meeting to commence approached much faster than Amelia had expected. Before she knew it, she was behind the door that opened to the side of the stage, holding her sketches, notes, and a hastily written summary of everything she had planned. If there was one thing that she was afraid of more than spiders, which was a fear she still had never gotten over, it was talking in front of an audience.

She gulped, 'Well, I suppose I've got to face my stage fright sooner or later.' She thought to herself. 'At least Jack will be with me.'

Said skeleton was standing a few feet behind her and could easily tell she was nervous, "Don't worry," he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "You'll do just fine. Remember, you're just speaking to a lot of your friends." He smiled at her when she turned to look at him with a grateful expression.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, she opened the door and walked up to the podium on stage. Jack closed the door behind him and stood there to let her be on her own, but also to be near just in case she needed him.

The Princess of Halloween cleared her throat, "Settle down."

The citizens ceased their talk amongst themselves and turned their attention to the teenaged royal onstage.

"Thank you. First off, I'd like to tell everyone that I am very grateful for this opportunity to run Halloween this year. I assure you that this year's celebration will be the most _awful_ one yet!" she exclaimed in hopes of capturing the townspeople's attention.

Her plan worked for a murmur of excitement passed through the citizens as they eagerly awaited her ideas.

"During my time away," she began, "I have studied the strange and _unusual_ customs of the humans." She paused as everyone gasped, some in interest and others in horror, "And I must tell you that I find the way they celebrate Halloween to be very intriguing. Nearly everyone dresses up in costumes, pretending to be someone or something they're not for one night. Many will play pranks on one another, hoping to get a good scare. Others prefer to throw parties in which whoever has the best costume wins a _mysterious_ _grand_ prize!" she had begun to emphasize her words as she became more and more excited about the plans herself.

She even started to wave her arms and hands in animated gestures for more emphasis. "Some even will make their homes _deathly_ scary and send people through them, not knowing what awaits them in every room. For _lurking_ in the shadows are humans in the _scariest_ and most _fearful_ outfits you've ever seen. Then, they jump out the moment their victims walk near, scaring the very _souls_ out of them!"

The crowed gasped and many _ooh_s and _ahs_ were heard.

"Fascinating indeed!" she nodded. "But one of the most interesting forms of their celebrations I saw was in the higher society of the humans. The classier ones dressed in the most elaborate, fancy, yet frightening, formal attire and attended what they called a Masquerade Ball. Everyone wore masks ranging from delightful to atrocious. In a large hall of some sort, they would dance to music performed by a live band. And, at the stroke of midnight, they took of their masks to reveal their identities to one another!"

All of the creatures began to talk to each other excitedly in hushed tones. The citizens obviously liked the idea.

Amelia grinned, "Now, I want to incorporate everything I've talked to you about today into our celebration, especially the masked ball. However, instead of being in a large ballroom, I would like the dance to be held in the town square." She unrolled one of her sketches, "I plan to recreate the spooky scenes I saw there, here in Halloween Town. I would also like to see everyone make their own costumes for I wish to hold a costume contest!"

The audience began to whisper to one another, already discussing ideas for their new outfits.

"I will need plenty of help making the decorations and I need everyone here in this room to pitch in. Now, here I have the list of jobs that I will need many volunteers for." she brought out a large list and began to read off the tasks that she needed people to do. The citizens would then raise their hand, or shout out, for the one that they wanted.

Jack had crossed his arms as he observed everything from the sidelines and beamed proudly to himself. 'Amelia certainly has come a long way from the small, frightened child she used to be.' he contemplated to himself, 'She is becoming quite the courageous leader and a fine young lady.' He stopped himself once the thought had crossed his mind. He couldn't help the slight awkward feeling that crept over him. However, he was snapped out of it when he heard a voice speak next to him.

"Amelia certainly has grown up quite a bit, and in a short while." Doctor Finklestein had rolled himself up next to the tall skeleton, "Much faster than that of a _normal_ sorceress. Don't you find that a bit strange Jack?" he looked up to the Pumpkin King.

"Err, well…" he quickly thought of a cover up, "You see, since Amelia planned on spending several years in the human realm, she had to appear to grow older just like those around her in order to fit in. And I guess she decided that she didn't want to go back to the way she once was."

"Hmm…" the doctor adjusted his glasses in thought as he looked at the said sorceress. "I suppose that _would_ make sense."

Jack mentally heaved a great sigh of relief, but immediately stiffened up again when the scientist spoke once more.

"However, I think you should keep an eye on her, but do be careful. There's something amiss about Amelia and I have a feeling that it isn't good." Doctor Finklestein concluded.

"Of course, Doctor." The king agreed, now a little worried that his long-time friend would grow even more suspicious of her real identity as time went on. He then turned his attention back to the girl at the podium who was finishing up the meeting.

"Well that just about does it for everyone." The young, ambitious, new leader spoke, "I expect to see everyone putting forth their best effort for our _horrible_ Halloween!"

The audience applauded, as did the Pumpkin King of course, and they all made their way out of the town hall.

"Job well done Ami!" Jack complimented her as they made their way through town and headed toward his home, "Good cover up for why you've been gone so long, I might add." He had lowered the volume of his voice as he spoke that last sentence.

"Thanks so much Jack!" the princess beamed up at him, "But honestly I would've never been able to get up there if it hadn't been for you."

He chuckled lightly, "Thank you Ami, but I only just helped a little. You were able to get up there completely on your own."

"Well I still think you deserve some credit." She stated.

"You may have grown up a lot, but you're still the town's little terror." He smiled warmly.

"I'm never going to grow out of that am I?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Nope." He stated as he opened the door to his house for her.

The next day, everyone began to work on the tasks that they had been assigned. It was a very productive day and Amelia was extremely pleased with how hard everyone worked. Some of the citizens were even way ahead of time with their assignment and started to make their costume for the costume contest and the masquerade. There were even a few who had asked their teenaged leader sketch out a design for them so they could have some place to start, which of course, she was delighted to assist. Other townspeople continued to work on their job to remain ahead of schedule. The city decorations came along nicely and looked positively frightening. The construction workers were building a platform where the awards would be given as well as where the judges would sit for the judging of the costume contest. The younger creatures were making many piñatas and found all sorts of treats to put in them, as well as some scary pranks like spiders and bugs. The band rehearsed their songs that they would play at the masquerade and throughout the night. The witches made potions to create all sorts of creepy effects, such as an eerie green fog, small storm clouds that created thunder and lightning, large mutant bats, and smokescreen that would make people vanish into thin air. Amelia busied herself by supervising and assisting with all of the projects, and by the end of the day, she was absolutely exhausted.

In the evening when everyone was sent home, she plopped herself into a large armchair in Jack's tower and heaved a great sigh. "It's only been a day and I'm already this tired?"

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Jack stated from where he sat in his tall chair at his desk.

"Easy for you to say, you've done this kind of thing for, well, _ever_." She commented.

He chuckled, "Well not exactly _that_ long, but yes for a while."

"Oh, I remembered something." The tired sorceress stated.

"Hmm?" he looked directly at her to signify that she had gained his attention.

"I was meaning to ask you," she began, "Am I supposed to be capable of using my powers outside of the holidays."

"Oh, well…" he scratched his chin and looked at the ground in thought, "In theory, no. I'm assuming that you've been able to?" he raised his head make eye contact again.

"Yeah," she nodded. "It was weird, I didn't even mean to but I accidentally cast a spell when I was at home, and it _worked_."

"Interesting…" he put his chin in his palm as he pondered a possible explanation. "Well, it is actually quite possible that you may have some natural, mystical abilities of your own without the help of your sorcery." He looked toward her, "It's not unheard of for a human to be born with magical qualities."

"But most people believe that's all just a bunch of junk." she pointed out. "You know, all hocus pocus, smoke and mirrors."

"Ah, that is all just _show_ magic." He explained, "Which would be your so-called magicians and what not. The kind that I'm referring to is only endowed to a very scarce number of humans, many of whom do not know how to control their mystical abilities." He let out a small sigh, "Because of that fact, most of them do not even attempt to master their powers and try to go on with their lives as though they never existed. Unfortunately, those who did want to try and master their abilities sought out help from the ones who were famous with show magic, thinking that they were both the same thing."

"Oh, I see." She was very intrigued with the information given to her.

"Yes, it's actually even rarer for a human to master their powers, let alone figure out how to control them. It's also very possible that you are one of these cases because you are lucky enough to have found a teacher in this sort of art." He grinned.

Amelia rolled her eyes for she knew he was just boasting about himself with that last line. She glanced at the tall grandfather clock and saw that it was late. "Well, I think I'm going to turn in for the night." She said with a yawn. "Goodnight Jack."

"Goodnight Ami." He smiled as she descended down the large, spiral stairwell. She didn't realize that she had forgotten to ask him about the ghost in the mirror, who oddly looked exactly like her own self.

After she entered her room, her mind was still congested with several questions yet to be answered. If she did have natural, magical abilities then why or how did she get them? Certainly they weren't hereditary because as far as she knew, there weren't any ancestors of hers that were considered crazy or had been tried as a witch. Was it more than a coincidence that one of the rare humans with magical abilities wandered into a place only thought to exist in merely _fantasies_?

She sat on her bed with her chin rested on top of her fisted hands. 'The answer he gave me has only left me with so many questions that I have no answers to.' She thought, 'And I doubt that he would know either.' She then took off her circlet crown and set it on her bedside table.

With a sigh, she got up and closed the crimson red curtains of her window. She then walked over to her large wardrobe. "I wonder if that nightgown will fit me better now that I'm bigger." She stated absently to herself, remembering how huge it was on her when she was little.

She opened the doors, reached in and grabbed the said article of clothing. She changed into the nightgown, which she was still pretty sure that it had once been part of a ghost costume. She looked at herself in the tall mirror in one corner of her room and flushed a deep shade of red. The edge of the gown only reached halfway down her thigh and was definitely a little tighter than she remembered. "I guess I grew more than I thought."

She dashed over to her door to make sure it was locked and double checked the thick, blood red drapes to make sure they were closed all the way. She then grabbed her spell book, which she had also set on her nightstand, and quickly flipped through the pages.

"I know I saw that spell somewhere in here." She mumbled to herself as she continued her search for the appropriate incantation. "Ah ha! Found it!"

She held the book out at arm's length and read the spell, "_Planto mei induviae minor_."

She felt her clothing do the exact opposite of what she had intended. Instead of becoming larger, the already tight nightgown shrunk. "Eep!" she squeaked. "No, no, no, no! Not what I wanted at _all_!"

Flustered, she looked at the incantation again, "Oh duh, I got the last word wrong." She concentrated and tried the spell again, "_Planto mei induviae maior_." This time, she got the results she wanted. The clothing grew and belled out around her body. "Ah," she sighed in relief, "_much_ better."

After she placed her book back in its spot on the table next to her crown, she stretched her arms above her head and yawned. She then tucked herself into bed and finally went to sleep. Unfortunately, her thoughts were still clouded with her unanswered questions and she fell into a fitful slumber.

However, Amelia hadn't realized that sleepless nights would be the least of her worries. For just beyond the horizon, trouble was coming her way.

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**Ooh, what could it be?? Just so you know ahead of time, the next chapter will be short. I've tried to make it longer but it's just not working ( Sorry! But it will still be good, I promise! Please review!!**


	4. Amelia's Lament

**Hello everyone!! Thanks sooo much for the awesome reviews!! They made me type faster! And now, I bring you another chapter with a parody of Jack's Lament, obviously to be called Amelia's Lament! Oh and this chapter is short, sorry about that...**

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The restless princess tossed and turned for most of the night before finally deciding to get up around one in the morning

The restless princess tossed and turned for most of the night before she finally decided to get up in the early hours of the morning.

"I've got to find a way to get to sleep." She commented drearily in her still half-asleep state.

Amelia glanced over to the large grandfather clock in the corner of her room. It then began to chime one in the morning. She then turned her head toward the large window, which was still covered by the thick, red drapes. After she tossed the covers off of herself and got out of bed, she walked over to the curtains and pulled them open.

'Maybe the light from the moon will help me fall asleep.' She thought as she pulled on the black rope that drew the drapes open. The pale light spilled into her room as though the moon had been trying to let its light shine through the entire night but with no avail.

Unconsciously, she slid the glass door aside and walked out onto her balcony. She leaned against the railing as she stared absent-mindedly to the moon. Her unanswered questions that still buzzed in her head finally seemed to calm down as she gazed, a serenity of peace washed over her which she gratefully welcomed. She let out a deep sigh of relief as she closed her eyes for a moment and let the feeling of tranquility overcome her senses. A strange feeling then swept over her when she opened her eyes again and gazed at the moon. For some reason, she felt inclined to just walk, walk out to the very cemetery where she had met Jack almost seven years ago.

"I feel as if something is calling me to that cemetery." She stated to herself, "I don't know why, but I feel that I _must_ go."

Giving into the strange urge, she levitated herself off of her balcony and onto the ground. Her bare feet touched the cool, though dead grass beneath her and woke her enough to actually comprehend where she was going and what was happening. She closed her eyes again and opened them, determined to go wherever her soul wanted to take her.

She walked down the old, worn path to the cemetery. She arrived at the gate and when she pushed it open, the creaking noise it made was very eerie. However, the haunting sound didn't faze Amelia, but that's to be expected of the Princess of Halloween isn't it?

When she entered, the feeling that led her there practically vanished and was replaced with another one. Depression took its hold on her and she looked down at the ground as she walked aimlessly through the graveyard. She began to think about something that has nagged at her in the back of her mind for a while.

"I don't know why but I feel like there's something missing, missing from my heart." She thought aloud. "I am so very fortunate to have all of these great things happen to me. Becoming Princess of Halloween, being put in charge of the very holiday, and befriending Jack, whom I know I can depend on." She sighed, "But there's still something…something that my soul is crying out for, but what?"

She lightly hugged herself as she wandered through the graveyard and gazed at the moon above her. She felt that she needed to let out what she's been bottling up inside. She took a deep breath, and began to sing. She sang her heart out and made animated gestures to even further express the hole she felt that had grown within her heart.

_There are few who deny my talents of fright,_

_That have become feared far and wide._

_When it comes to spells and the eerie potion,_

_I bewitch without even a single thought._

_With just one single note of my mystical voice,_

_I have had monsters and ghouls at my feet._

_With a wave of my hand and my Latin flow, _

_I have become a sorceress to fear._

She moved elegantly among the tombstones, like a wondering spirit. She danced to her own song in a way that was completely her own for no one watched her, so she didn't hold back.

_Yet for some odd reason, my heart is aching,_

_And I've grown so weary from my constant searching._

_And I, Ami! Jack's true and only heir,_

_Have become so tired of my heart breaking._

Her fluid movements with each step that she took had further shown the unknown sorrow that had locked itself within her heart. As if she had been dancing her whole life, Amelia gracefully made her way up Spiral Hill and came to a halt once she had reached the top.

_Oh somewhere deep inside of my soul,_

_An emptiness began to grow _

_There's something out there my heart longs for,_

_A feeling that I've never known_

_I'm the Daughter of Fright, an angel of the night. _

_And I can send my victims into a trance._

_Was once a fearful child, but now I'm fear itself!_

_Why now I'm known throughout England and France!_

_Dead I may not be, but Halloween is within me,_

_That's why Jack put me onto the throne!_

_For there's no one else who can terrorize like I can,_

_With but just a little hypnotic tone._

_But who here would ever be able see?_

_To truly understand the mere girl that I am,_

_And fill this hole that has grown within my heart._

_I feel that it's always been there, right from the start. _

With cat-like grace, she descended the hill, which uncurled beneath her bare feet so that she may reach the ground below with no effort at all.

_Oh there's an empty place in my soul,_

_That calls out for something unknown._

_The fame and praise that will come this year,_

_Won't quench the longing that causes my tears._

She was still rather sad, but glad that she got her strange emotion out of her system for, at least, the time being. She soon found herself walking to a rather familiar looking tombstone. It was the very one that she had cried her eyes out upon nearly seven years ago, the very same one where she had first met Jack. As she approached it, she noticed that the grave was underneath a weeping willow. She had never noticed it until now. She kneeled before the stone and, out of simple curiosity, she decided to see who it was that was buried beneath the place of such a precious memory. She squinted as she tried to read the name but the letters had been worn away. All that remained were two letters, the first letter of the first name and the first letter of the last name.

"E.B" she read aloud, "So this person has the initials of E.B." She then looked at the rest of the tombstone and found the birth and death years. "1837 to 1853." She thought for a moment, "They only lived to be sixteen!" she exclaimed. "Hmm, and they lived during the beginning of the Victorian Era, interesting…"

She sat next to the stone and then gazed back up at the moon. After a few moments, she decided to survey the scene around her. It was dark, save for the bright glow of the moon. The stars shone, albeit dimly. There were dead trees spread throughout, and in front of Spiral Hill was a pumpkin patch. Many of the tombstones throughout the cemetery were crosses and bent at awkward angles.

"You know," she addressed no one in particular, "I would've probably been scared out of my wits right now had I not come to Halloween Town and met Jack." She chuckled lightly, "I really owe a lot to him actually, though mostly for helping me to overcome my fears. And getting back at John, Trevor, and Cody of course." She laughed again.

"All these great things have happened to me and it's all just because I fell through a hole in a hollow tree." She sighed, "Yet, I feel as though there's a space in my heart that is as empty as that very tree. What is it that makes my heart ache so much? My life is so much more than I could have asked for, but still…" her sentence remained unfinished as her mind began to wonder.

She brushed her fingers lightly over the worn name on the stone. A strange thought occurred to her, "I wonder if Jack was ever human…" she spoke aloud and then sat up a little straighter and actually began to ponder the idea. "I wonder where he lived and what he _looked_ like." She cocked her head to the side and stared up at the moon as she started to imagine many various images of what he possibly looked like when he was alive, that is, if he ever was. She laughed lightly to herself for she was having a lot of trouble picturing The Pumpkin King looking any different than what he already was.

Suddenly, a breeze blew by and sent a cold chill down her spine. She shivered a little and hugged herself in attempt to keep warm.

"_Amelia…_" a faint voice whispered.

"Huh?" the mentioned girl stood up and whipped around to find the person who spoke her name. However, she was only met with the trees and graves behind her. "Who's there?" she asked as she turned around to look in a different direction.

"_Amelia…_" it said her name once more, barely audible.

"Show yourself!" the wary princess demanded as she again tried to locate the origin of the sound.

"_Leave…_" the voice spoke again, this time in a harsher tone.

"Not until you tell me who you are!" she yelled, actually becoming a little frightened.

"_You're no longer safe…_" it had become calm once more, "_Leave…_"

Amelia had a confused expression as her eyes continued to search for the source of the eerie voice. "Why must I leave?" she tried a nicer approach in hopes of finding some answers "Why am I not safe?"

"_Beware the music of the night…_" was the answer the voice gave.

"Huh?" she was more confused than ever, "What does that _mean_?"

She did not receive a reply for the voice had disappeared along with the cold wind. Everything around her was now still and silent as death. It chilled her to the bone, even with the absence of the breeze.

The young princess hugged herself again as if to banish the scary feeling that crept over her.

"Even in Halloween Town I can't escape the weirdness that seems to be following me everywhere!" she heaved a deep sigh of defeat and began to tread slowly back to town. "This all because I was born ten days before Halloween isn't it?" she asked no one in particular as she exited the cemetery, silently hoping that the voice _wouldn't_ reply.

Once she had closed the gate and was several yards away from the cemetery, a tall shadow walked out from behind a tree near the entrance.

"Ten days before Halloween eh? Hmm…" the moonlight hit it to reveal that the shadow was none other than Jack Skellington.

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**IMPORTANT! Jack is NOT the weird voice. I'm going to explain that in the next chapter, I just didn't anyone making the wrong assumption. Hope you enjoyed it!! Please review! It makes me type faster!!**


	5. The Newcomer

**Hello good people of !! I am pleased to present chapter 4 of The Nightmare of Amelia Brave! Enjoy!**

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Unbeknownst to Amelia, Jack had hid in the shadows when she sung her lament. However, once she had finished, he snuck away so she wouldn't see him. Thus, he didn't see or hear her encounter with the strange voice that told her to leave. He had walked out of the cemetery through the gate when he heard her approach so he then dashed into the trees. She mentioned her birthday as she exited through the gate and that much his ears did catch. When she passed his hiding place and made her way back, he soon realized that if he didn't hurry she would beat him home and discover his absence. Quickly muttering something under his breath, he disappeared. She returned to the house and never knew that Jack had followed her.

The next day, everyone in town resumed their jobs and tasks they had been assigned. Once again it was a very productive day and each of the citizens worked their hardest. It was late in the evening when Amelia had finally finished up a costume design for one of the townspeople. She held her sketchbook in hand and walked around town as she drew out more ideas for how she wanted everything to look.

"Everything is going quite smoothly." She commented to herself, "I can't wait to show these to Jack!" she stated as she completed one of the sketches.

She continued to draw until the sun was no longer visible on the horizon. She breathed a small sigh of exhaustion but still held a smile on her face. Then, she began to walk around town and compared her drawings to the subjects so that she would know if she got every last detail right. In short, Amelia is a perfectionist.

Meanwhile, a tall figure walked through the town gate. It was a young man who seemed to be of noble stature for he was dressed in a tailored, Victorian gothic suit with a black cape gently flapping in the faint breeze that was created when he walked. His hair was as black as the night sky and his eyes were as crimson as blood. He caught sight the vampire quartet nearby and approached them.

"Excuse me," as the stranger spoke his sharp fangs were revealed, "Could one of you please tell me where I might find the leader of Halloween?"

The quartet had recognized him as a fellow vampire so they kindly directed him toward the young sorceress in the middle of the town square.

He paused a moment before approaching her and raised an eyebrow, 'How could a mere girl be in charge of an _entire _holiday?' he questioned in thought.

He noticed she had a sketchbook in hand as she turned slightly. He studied her face for a moment before the corners of his mouth curled up into a devilish smirk, which again revealed his fangs, and began to make his way over to her.

When he was about half way across the square, he slowed his pace and scowled as a tall, slender skeleton in a pinstripe suit with a bat bowtie walked up to the teenager.

"How is everything coming along Amelia?" Jack asked the teen sorceress.

"Wonderful! Err…I mean horrendous!" she corrected herself.

"That's the spirit!" He noticed the sketchbook in her hands, "Say now, what do we have here?"

"Oh! These are my sketches of what the town should look like once all of the decorations are put up." She handed her book over to him and he began to flip through the pages.

"Hmm…" he examined the drawings, "Very nice. Yes, very nice indeed! You've outdone yourself yet again!" he handed them back to her.

"Thanks." She suddenly felt her cheeks get a little warmer at his compliment so she looked down at her sketches and pretended to be going over them.

Someone cleared their throat behind them and the two turned around to face the strange newcomer. Both of them smiled and Jack stepped forward to greet him.

"Hello there, welcome to Halloween Town! Who might you be?" the Pumpkin King asked.

"Thank you," the vampire gave a curt nod in respect, "I am Alucard Doram Lio." His sharp fangs flashed as he gave a half smile that was more like a smirk as his eyes came in contact with the young sorceress's.

Amelia feels her face heat up as his gaze met hers. Her breath had caught in her throat for a brief moment as her heart skipped a beat.

"I come from La Ville des Mensonges in France." He continued with a slight French accent as he stated his hometown's name, "I grew tired of living in hiding for so long while in the human world so I decided to come here."

"Well it's a pleasure to have you." Jack stated as he shook his hand. "I am Jack Skellington, King of all Halloween. This is Amelia," he gestured to the young girl next to him, "Princess of Halloween."

She snapped out of her daze and bowed her head, "It's nice to meet you." Her blush returned at what the vampire did next.

Alucard smoothly took her hand and kissed it, "Please," his dark red orbs met her sky blue ones yet again, "The pleasure is all mine."

The sorceress felt as though she could faint. Never in her life had she ever met a young man who was so polite and well mannered, which was something she had started to look for in a guy. Not to mention he was drop-dead handsome. She wanted to say something but temporarily couldn't find her voice.

However, if she had she wouldn't have had the chance before Jack interrupted. A strange feeling had overpowered him as Alucard had started to act suave. He put a hand on the young man's shoulder and directed his attention away from Amelia.

"If you're going to be living here, we ought to find you a place stay!" he beamed and almost forcefully, he began to lead the vampire away. He turned his head to look over his shoulder toward the still a little flustered sorceress, "I'll meet you back home in a few minutes."

"O-ok." She stuttered her response. When he turned his attention back ahead of him, she shook her head to banish the blush that had remained on her cheeks and began to walk back to her 'home away from home.'

Alucard gave the tall skeleton a strange look and raised an eyebrow.

"Amelia was once a newcomer here too." he explained as he released the vampire's shoulder, "Her parents sent her here to learn to overcome her fears and master her powers. I gave her the guest room in my house so that she would have a place to stay. She now loves this place and practically lives here, but she does return home now and then." Telling him that she is staying with him was Jack's indiscreet way of saying that he looks out for her and that Alucard had better mind his distance.

Meanwhile, said young sorceress was going through inner turmoil as she made her way back to the house.

'I don't know why but Alucard looks so _familiar_.' She thought to herself with a confused expression across her face. 'But I've never seen, or heard of, him in my life! Not to mention he's lived in France and I've never been there!' She scratched her head as she tried to figure out the strange puzzle. However, her attention was diverted to a stout man in a tall top hat who approached her.

"Why hello there Pumpkin Princess!" the Mayor beamed with his head turned to his happy face.

"Please Mayor," she tried not to cringe at the nickname, "don't call me that." She plastered on a fake smile, trying not to be rude.

"My apologies Amelia." He gave a curt nod.

"Thank you." She mentally sighed in relief.

"By the way, I hear that we have a new arrival." The Mayor pointed out, obviously excited about the news. "A vampire of sorts, is that true?"

"Yes, his name is Alucard Doram Lio." She informed, "He came from La Ville des Mensonges in France." She imitated a French accent. "He moved here so that he wouldn't have to live in hiding among the humans anymore."

"Ah! I see! Well, considering you have your hands full for the next few days, how about I fill him in on the Halloween Celebration." He beamed again.

"Oh, thank you so much Mayor!" she smiled, very grateful for his offer, "That helps me a lot actually, one less thing on my already extremely long to-do list."

"Not a problem at all!" He exclaimed, "Well, I had best be on my way. Good evening Amelia." He lifted his hat slightly as a goodbye gesture and then left to go wherever it was he planned to go, leaving the princess alone with her thoughts yet again.

She made her way once again toward Jack's home. 'I'm so glad that the Mayor will be doing that for me. I already have so much I need to do tomorrow, helping out making the city decorations and what not.' She heaved a small sigh of exhaustion.

Suddenly, an image of Alucard's face popped in her mind and she let out a small moan in frustration. 'Where the heck have I seen that guy before!?' she yelled in her head.

Jack took Alucard to a small but suitable house toward the other end of town. It was conveniently, for Jack, farthest from his own home and from Amelia. He didn't know why, but the tall skeleton could help but be protective of his friend.

"I hope that you will find this fitting for you." He smiled as he opened the door to the house for the vampire.

Once inside, Alucard looked around and briefly inspected the living room and the attached kitchen. He then turned around and walked inside the bedroom. He gave a nod in satisfaction and walked back up to the Pumpkin King.

"Yes, this will do quite nicely." He commented to the skeleton.

"Glad to hear it!" Jack then turned to exit, "Well, I'll leave you to get settled." He began to walk out the door and back outside.

"Thank you Jack." The vampire said as the king made his way out.

"Not a problem!" he called and began his way back to his home.

Once he was a block or so away from the Alucard's new dwelling, he began to ponder the behavior of the new arrival.

'I have a bad feeling about this Alucard fellow. I had better keep a close eye on him' he thought to himself. 'The last thing I want to do is to put Amelia in danger again.' He sighed as the memory of the nightmare that had occurred on his account nearly six years before.

"I'm not going to let that happen again." He quietly, but determinedly spoke aloud.

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**I hope you all enjoyed it!! Please review! You know the drill, it makes me type faster lol.**


	6. A Vampire's Charm

**Well I asked for reviews and you guys delivered! Thanks so much!! Here's your reward! **

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Jack returned home to find that Amelia was nowhere in sight. He looked around on the first floor for a bit before walking up to her bedroom door. He hears footsteps and the creaking of the bed signaling that she had turned in early for the night. He shrugged his shoulders and figured she was simply exhausted from the day's work. With that in mind, he decided not to disturb her. He walked away and up into his tower where he stayed for the rest of the night.

Sleep did not come easy yet again for the young sorceress since her mind was a buzz with the events of the day as she stared up at her ceiling. What, or who to be more precise, was on her mind was none other than the blood-sucking newcomer himself.

'Why oh why can't I get my mind off of Alucard!?' she mentally yelled. 'He's all I've been able to think about for the past hour.' She sighed in frustration.

Her thoughts drifted to a certain trait about the vampire, his eyes. 'I've never seen such crimson colored eyes before…' she turned on her side and gazed out her window as the last remnants of the sun's rays disappeared below the horizon and then the sky became shrouded in darkness.

'It felt strange starring into those red eyes. It was like nothing I've ever felt before.' She contemplated the bizarre sensation. 'Could it be that he was trying to hypnotize me?' she mentally asked herself, 'Vampires can do that can't they? If so, why?'

Her eyes widened a little as she came to a realization. 'They drink human blood right? Could he somehow know that I'm not really a sorceress?'

"Ugh…" she groaned in frustration and tried to come up with a more rational explanation, to which none came.

'How is it that I'm the Princess of Halloween yet I know next to nothing about vampires?' she scolded herself in her mind.

She remembered the vast library Jack had in his room. 'Surely he has a book about them. But I can't let him know what I'm up to, the last thing I want to do is to make him worry.'

For a while now, Amelia had noticed Jack's protective behavior. But who could blame him? She was practically his daughter after all. She quietly giggled at the thought, who could ever imagine her being the child of an undead skeleton?

Her thoughts finally shifted away from the mysterious new arrival and to something a little more comforting.

She remembered all of the good times she's spent with the Pumpkin King, mostly him teaching her new spells when she was younger. But her favorite was when they had teamed up to scare the living daylights out of her childhood bullies. She couldn't have asked for a better friend than Jack. He always stood by her, especially during her darkest hour. He never gave up on her and believed in her even more than she even believed in herself. With him, her confidence most definitely raises compared to her rather meek and closed self back in the human world. Honestly if it hadn't been for him, she could still be the cowering nine-year old she once was. She owed him so much more than she could ever give back. Never in her life had she been thankful of one of the scariest days of her childhood, the day she discovered Halloween Town.

With those pleasant thoughts in mind, the young princess finally fell into a well-deserved, peaceful sleep.

In the morning, she awoke to the jack-o-lantern-shaped sun's light pouring into her room through her large window. She half-opened her eyes and groaned in pain from the intensity. Reluctantly, she sat up and glared at the window. She was _not_ a morning person.

She moved her hand to start to get out of bed when she felt something soft under her palm. She looked down and noticed a small, stuffed bear. It was the teddy bear Jack had given her when she had a horrible nightmare nearly six years ago. There was a note attached to the toy, she took it off and read it.

_I've noticed you have a bit of a habit of leaving this behind. Don't forget him this time because he missed you greatly._

_Jack_

She giggled. It was true for she had forgotten him the last time she was in Halloween Town when she was twelve.

"Oh Jack." She rolled her eyes and smiled. A warm expression replaced her sour one from when she had woken up.

She set the note and the bear aside so she could get up out of bed. She yawned and stretched her arms to get the remaining sleep out of her. She looked out at the beaming pumpkin sun and smiled herself.

"I could use more mornings like this." She happily stated before she got dressed.

Once she had finished getting ready for the day and put on her circlet crown, she headed out her door and to the living room where she found Jack had been waiting for her.

"Good morning Ami!" he greeted, "Did you find your long lost friend when you woke up?"

"Yes I did." She giggled, "I'm glad you found him." She beamed up at him.

"I thought you might have missed him." He turned on his heel, "Well, we had better get going. We have a long day ahead of us."

"Do we ever." Amelia added as they headed out the door.

For most of the day, Amelia added some finishing touches to her décor designs for the main square before she and a few volunteers began to make them. Since Amelia couldn't sew or make that many things with her hands or tools, she used her magic to create what she was needed, such as items necessary to make the decorations. She supplied spider's silk for the witches so that they could make the webs that would be covered over various objects in town like statues and the top of city hall. She provided various cutting utensils for the pumpkin carvings. She cast spells that created all sorts of fabric to make the banners that would be hung up on the large buildings and a few homes.

Jack supervised to make sure everything was coming along as planned. He helped to figure out the best places to put the spider webs the witches had made. He gave suggestions to the pumpkin carvers so that the jack-o-lanterns would be as scary as they could be. He also hung a few of the completed banners since he was, after all, the tallest person in town. However, he did use his own magic to put them in places that even he could not reach.

There was one job, however, that Amelia had to do entirely by herself because everyone else was busy. Using her levitation powers, she detached the majority of the leaves on the trees to make them look scarier. The whole time she did so, she thought back to when she walked down the path in the forest almost six years ago that led her to Halloween Town. The trees were mostly bare and their branches looked like arms with long, lengthy fingers that reached out to grab her. Now the trees she worked on to get rid of the leaves looked eerily similar to those very same trees back home.

That job tried her out rather quickly from the extensive use of her magic. Though she did not want to, she had to sit down and give herself a break or else she would surely pass out from exhaustion. Ironically enough, she sat down on the ledge of the water fountain with the grotesque monster statue where she had been crowned Pumpkin Princess. However, she still hated the title name with a passion for some unknown reason.

She sighed happily as the pleasant memory of becoming the heir to the throne passed through her mind and began to stare at the cloudy sky above for a few minutes.

"Fancy seeing you here." A masculine voice whispered in her ear.

Amelia felt her face flush crimson as goose bumps formed up and down her arms. Slowly, she turned her head to be face to face with none other than Alucard Doram Lio.

"EEEPPP!!" she squealed as she jumped up from her seat and away from him practically ten feet. Her face was now an even deeper shade of red than before.

Alucard crossed his arms as he stared at her with an amused expression on his face.

"D-don't scare me like that!" she clenched her hands into fists and glared at the vampire.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that the Pumpkin Princess could be frightened." He smirked and revealed his fangs.

"Don't. Call. Me. _That_." She nearly hissed as she spoke.

"Hey now," he put his hands up in defense, "No need to be offended."

"Hmph!" she turned her back to him and crossed her arms, "Jerk." She muttered.

"Forgive me, princess." He smoothly spoke in her ear.

Amelia jumped away from him, 'How the heck did he move so fast!?' she thought.

"I believe that we got off on the wrong foot." He then gestured to the fountain, "Please, may I sit with you." His eyes were soft and sincere as looked directly into her eyes.

She pondered his offer for a moment before she decided to go ahead and give him a second chance. She nodded, walked over to the fountain's ledge, and sat down. Alucard soon followed her example.

"Also, I'd like to apologize for having to cut our meeting short yesterday." His expression asked for her forgiveness.

"Oh no, please don't blame yourself." She protested, "It's my fault! Being in charge of Halloween Town and all, I'm just so busy! So I'm the one who should be saying sorry." Amelia never liked it when someone blamed themselves for something that was her own fault, even if that person was a vampire.

"You know," he crossed his arms, "since you are the ruler of this town, you have the authority to make time for yourself."

"Hm, I never thought about that." She pondered, "But I wouldn't if I could because I want to devote my time to Halloween. I don't want to let the citizens down."

"You couldn't possibly let them down," he looked up to the sky as he spoke before looking her directly in the eye, "because you're already such a great leader."

"Oh," she felt her face begin to heat up, "Well um, thank you." She fiddled with the end of her long sleeves to avoid making eye contact.

However, she hated the awkward silence so she figured that she had better say something. "Do you mind if I ask you a random question?"

"Um, sure?" he was slightly taken off guard.

"Well," she still wasn't looking him in the eye, "How old are you?" she felt like an idiot as soon as the words left her mouth. "Well, you see I heard that vampires can live a long time and I was wanting to know if it was true." She was practically rambling as dared to look up at him.

"Oh, well yes it's true." He stated, "I have lived for five centuries."

"Five centuries!?" she exclaimed but then slapped her hand over her mouth, "Forgive me." She looked down at her shoes in embarrassment.

What he did next really surprised her.

He laughed.

"You are something else Amelia." He said once he had calmed down.

She chuckled nervously and sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "Well back home I'm known as the weird girl for a reason."

"Oh yes, I was told that you don't really live here." He stated.

"Part of the reason I stay so long is because I'm accepted." She giggled.

"Well they have to accept you. After all, you are the heir to the throne." He pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's nice to return home. It gives me a good break from the responsibilities as being the "temporary" leader." She smiled up at the sky.

"Amelia." He spoke as he leaned in closer to her.

When she turned her head, their faces were merely inches apart and she felt her blush return. Her heart even skipped a beat as they made eye contact. She would've turned away but there was something in his eyes that just seemed to capture her and keep her there.

"You need to relax more than you allow. I don't want you to exhaust yourself." He gave a half-smile.

As she gazed into his crimson orbs, she felt as though her mind was in a fog. She seriously contemplated taking the rest of the day off to give herself some time to relax.

"_Amelia…_" a voice whispered.

"Huh?" The princess suddenly turned her head toward where she heard her name said that snapped her out of the delusional thoughts. She looked around for the source of the voice for she new it was not Alucard's.

"What's wrong?" the vampire in front of her asked, truly concerned.

"Oh, it's nothing." She mentally shook her head, 'I guess he didn't hear it.' She thought.

She stood up and turned toward Alucard, "I'm glad we're better acquainted but I'm afraid I've got to get back to help out with the remainder of today's preparations." With that, she turned on her heel and walked away.

The vampire gave a small, quiet grumble and absentmindedly looked into the water of the fountain.

"Hmm?" he saw something in the water but it was gone in a split second. Now all that he saw was the gray sky and his absent reflection. With a sigh, he stood up and walked off in the opposite direction of the young sorceress.

Amelia leaned against the wall next to the gate of Jack's home. She heaved a deep sigh, 'That was weird,' she thought. 'That voice was the same one that told me to leave I'm _sure_ of it!' she pondered the voice for a moment before she decided that it was just her imagination playing tricks on her.

Her thoughts then turned to the bizarre feeling she again had felt when their eyes had met. She couldn't quite explain the strange sensation. When she couldn't think of any rational explanation, she shrugged the whole ordeal off and went back to the town square to finish up what had to be completed that day.

Later that evening, the princess stood on her balcony but she didn't gaze at the crescent moon above. Instead, she had her eyes transfixed on a golden heart-shaped locket that she held open in her hands. Inside was a picture of a young boy with light, brunette colored hair and brown eyes.

"Eric…" She bit her lip to prevent the tears that threatened to fall. "Why did you have to go?" she further fought back the urge to cry. She closed the locked and held it close.

'I vowed that I would one day find you,' she thought, 'and figure out if we were meant to be or not. But Alucard, for some reason, reminds me so much of you…' she sniffled, 'But I know he's not you, so why do I feel so strange? Why did my heart skip a beat back there?'

"He doesn't even look like you." She whispered aloud, "So why is it that I think of you?"

"Maybe…" She gazed up at the moon teary eyed. "Maybe it's because I've never as so much felt _something_ towards another guy after you left."

She stared up at the night sky that sparkled for only a minute or so but it seemed to her like an eternity. Finally, she closed the locket, placed the necklace in her pocket, and walked back inside to her room to turn in for the night.

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**Oh? What's this? A past love? What could that possibly do with the story!? Review and I'll type out the next chapter soon! **


	7. The Dream that Just Wouldn't Go Away

**Tada! It's here!!  
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**IMPORTANT!! This chapter just seemed to have some problems to me. It just didn't seem to flow that good so please, any nice criticism you have or suggestions please tell me! **

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Unlike so many nights before, Amelia actually for once had a peaceful sleep.

Well, almost.

Her dreams revealed something rather…unexpected.

--

"_Wh-Wha? Where am I?" I asked aloud. _

_I realized I wasn't in my room in Halloween Town, but I was still in the holiday realm, at least I thought. The room I stood in was large and had no furniture. I gazed up at the ceiling and saw a beautiful chandelier above me with actual candles. The room, which I realized was a ballroom, had mirrors along one of the walls. That's when I saw that I wasn't in my normal nighttime attire. Instead, I wore a breath-taking black dress. It didn't have sleeves only straps and it came down to my knees. It hugged my curves just right in a way that flattered my body. I blushed as I gazed at my reflected image because I wasn't used to wearing dresses of any kind, other than my sorceress gowns, let alone ones that showed off my figure. I looked at my shoes, which were black flats that I absolutely love to wear. I never understood how girls my age could stand to wear those high-heeled, painful things they even called shoes. My hair was wavy the way I had always wanted it to be and done up in an elegant ponytail so it flowed down my back. _

_I giggled at my image and spun around on my toes. To my pleasant surprise, the dress flowed out around me as though I was a real dancer. I gave a small squeal in delight and spun around even more until I got dizzy. Once I stopped, I laughed at myself because I had become one of my many childhood fantasies, an elegant ballroom dancer. _

_All of a sudden, floating candles began to appear and lit up the room as the glow from the chandelier slowly dimmed before it finally went out. I felt a chill run down my spine although the atmosphere was warm. The mood of the setting I was now in was something I could only describe with one word. _

_Romantic._

'_There is absolutely no way there could be one person in a romantic place so who else could be here?' I felt my cheeks become hot as soon as the thought crossed my mind. _

"_Good evening Amelia." _

_A masculine voice had spoken those words…right behind me. _

_I gasped and whipped around to find myself face to face with none other than Jack Skellington. _

"_H-hello J-Jack." I stuttered like an idiot, 'Real smooth Amelia.' I mentally scolded myself. _

_He chuckled, "Forgive me if I startled you." He bowed and then looked me in the eyes. "Would a dance make it up to you?" he then stood back up to his full height and outstretched his hand toward me. _

_I blushed like mad again. 'Jack wants to dance…with _me_!?' I thought before I realized I had better say something. Unfortunately, I couldn't find my voice when I gazed into his eyes and all I could do was nod my head. Nervously, I placed my hand in his. _

_He pulled me close to him and placed his free hand on my waist as my own instinctively rested on his shoulder. That was probably one of the few times I wouldn't have minded heels because of his impressive height. _

"_What about music?" I asked when I realized the only sound was our voices. _

_He smirked and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, it was as if an orchestra began to play for then beautiful music filled the entire room. The melody seemed to flow through my entire body and I immediately knew the steps to the dance. _

_Jack twirled me around in a circle and then we began the waltz. _

_It was nothing like I had ever experienced before. Although it was a couple's dance, we moved as one. I had never understood that saying until then. I felt totally comfortable with him and I knew I could trust him. As we danced, I felt something within me that I couldn't quite define. My heart was racing as butterflies fluttered in my stomach. My cheeks flushed even though I wasn't exhausted. The more I thought about it, the more I noticed that it wasn't the first time I had felt this way around him. It had happened several times before actually. _

_My thoughts about my strange emotions quickly vanished as my gaze met his once more. I noticed something odd about his expression, but couldn't quite place it. He was obviously happy and serene but there was something else. I just couldn't recognize what it was. _

_Before I knew it, the song came to a close and Jack was holding me close, even closer than when we began so, of course, I flushed bright red. He kept one hand around my waist and with the other, snapped his fingers. A gorgeous black rose materialized in his hand. As I gazed at the beautiful flower, I noticed that the thorns had been cut off. He gently held the rose and then placed it in my hair. My face became a deeper shade of red so I turned my head away so that he wouldn't see. I ended up looking at the wall of mirrors and saw that the black rose matched my attire perfectly. It almost seemed now that I would be missing something if I didn't have the gorgeous flower. I noticed that Jack also gazed at our reflection and there was that strange emotion in his eyes again. _

_He then turned his attention back to me and gently cupped my chin with his hand so that my gaze met his. His eyes half-closed as he leaned down toward me. My mind told me to run but my feet wouldn't listen. Instead, I began to close my eyes as my heart began to beat rapidly in anticipation for what was about to happen._

--

"Amelia?" a masculine voice broke through her unconsciousness.

"WAAHH!!" the startled princess shrieked in surprise.

"You've been asleep for quite sometime now. It's almost noon." Jack stood next to her bed as he spoke to her obviously concerned for she had never slept in so late before.

"J-Jack!?" she finally realized who it was that spoke to her and quickly turned her head away toward the window to hide the intense blush that spread across her face. "D-did I r-really s-sleep in th-that long?" she stuttered from embarrassment.

"You must've had quite the dream." He stated as he raised a would-be eyebrow.

He couldn't see it but her face flushed a darker shade of red.

"I came in several times to try and wake you but you were practically out-cold." He chuckled. "Well, I'll leave you to get ready," he said as he began to exit out the door, "I'll meet you outside." The door gave a soft _click_ when he shut it behind him.

She turned her head to make sure that he was really gone. Once she was certain he was, she let out a deep sigh.

'What was up with that dream?' she thought to herself and placed her hand on her forehead, 'I've _never_ dreamt of Jack in _that_ way before!' she shook her head to banish such thoughts and finally got out of bed.

Once she had gotten dressed, she walked over to the window and pulled the cord that opened the crimson drapes so the late morning sunlight could pour into the room. She leaned against the frame and looked out toward the forest.

'That was too weird.' She thought, 'Why on earth would I have a dream like that?' she glanced at the door, 'Jack is my good friend and I don't think of him in _that_ way…right?'

A week passed and during that time everything carried on like normal, everyone worked hard to make the year's Halloween the best one yet. During that time, Amelia tried to go on with life like normal, which worked for the most part. She was able to push the dream into the back of her mind and had pretty much forgotten about the whole thing. That is, until one night she had the dream again.

"Gah!" she grunted in frustration before she turned over in bed with her face in the pillow. She moved her head to look out the window. It was early evening and the sun was still out. She had returned to her room an hour earlier from exhaustion of the Halloween preparations so she thought a nap would do her some good. However, what she struggled to forget returned. "Why did I have that dream again!?" She let out another groan of irritation.

"I clearly think of him as a friend! I can't really have _feelings_ toward him…could I?" she asked herself.

In truth, she had noticed signs from the past week. Her heart raced whenever he was remotely near her. She wanted to strike up a conversation for no apparent reason constantly, and then start to stutter like a schoolgirl who had a crush on the popular guy. Even her face would heat up when he would just stand next to her. She thought it was the dream that made her act so strange.

He knew her when she was just a child and she considered him to be family. He was her dearest friend, always there for her and never gave up on her. Anything she felt for him that was more than just friendship would be dangerous to the close relationship they already have.

"I hate being a teenager…" she grumbled. "I've got to find someway to forget that dream before I start thinking things I _know_ I'll regret."

An idea popped into her head and she whipped out her spell book. "There's got to be some sort of memory wipe spell here!" she said as she quickly turned the pages trying to find such an incantation. She did find one, but it wasn't one that would work for her. "This one only works on real memories and not dreams!?" she let out a shout of frustration and put the spell book back in her sleeve.

She moved to sit at the edge of the bed and began to ponder other possibilities, to which she could think of none. Then suddenly, another idea struck her, "Maybe if I got myself a boyfriend…Nah." she quickly discarded the idea, "I don't know of anyone back home who would want to date the school freak."

She sighed and looked out the window and saw that the sun was barely touching the horizon. She decided that fresh air might do her some good, so she got up and headed out the door.

The town square was empty like a ghost town, much to her relief. She walked over to a bench along the stonewall that had caught her eye and sat down. She looked up at the sky, mesmerized by the colors that had begun to paint the sky.

"Good evening Amelia." A masculine voice spoke next to her.

She softly gasped and turned her head to be face to face with Alucard who had sat next to her. She realized how close they were and instantly flushed. "H-hello Alucard." She noticed that he was holding a black umbrella above his head to avoid the sunlight.

During the past week, Alucard and Amelia had become good friends. She found that the more she had gotten to know him, the more she liked him. Often she would become flustered every time they talked and her face would quickly turn red. She would also catch herself daydreaming about him frequently. In all honesty, he fit the profile of her ideal guy perfectly, well other than the fact he was a vampire. Handsome, tall, well-mannered, smooth talker, and just the sight of him made her heart skip a beat.

"Did I startle you?" he asked, moving his head away from hers a little.

"Oh! No, no you didn't." she laughed softly.

"Amelia," he narrowed his eyes a little, "Are you alright? You've been acting very strange lately."

"Yeah I'm ok. Don't worry it's nothing," she avoided his gaze and tucked a strand of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear.

"Hmmm…alright if you say so." It was obvious he didn't buy it, but decided not to push the matter anymore. He leaned back on the bench and looked at her, "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"No, not at all!" she smiled as she turned her head to face him again.

"I've heard that you're a sorceress, but what kind?" his expression was slightly curious.

"What _kind_?" she questioned for she didn't know that there were different types.

"Yes. Let me put it this way, what is your specialty? Normally that would be the first power you discover about yourself." He explained.

"Oh! Well that's easy. I hypnotize people." She declared.

"Really?" he seemed very intrigued by the information, "How so?"

"Well, I sing." She felt a little embarrassed about it for singing is not really thought of as hypnotic.

"_Really_?" He was a little surprised at the fact, "Do you know what it means to be an Armonia sorceress like yourself?"

She was slightly taken aback by the question and shook her head no.

"An Armonia is a rarity among the magical world. They use their voices to hypnotize their victims and then command them to do their bidding. However, there hasn't been a sorceress like that for _centuries_!" He pointed out.

"Are you serious?" she really didn't think that she was that special, especially since she got her powers from being human in a mythical realm.

"Quite." He gave a curt nod.

"How come they're so rare?" she asked.

"You really don't know that much about sorcery do you?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Well…" she quickly thought of a cover story, "My parents and I are the only sorcerers in my home town and I guess I just never bothered to learn our history."

"Hmm…" he was a little suspicious of what she said but shrugged and decided to go with it, "Having the ability to hypnotize through song is a genetic trait. Very few are endowed with such a gift because there were so few of the Armonia sorcerers even thousands of years ago. Not to mention the special DNA of such a sorcerer skips several generations before another shows signs of being one. It is said that they are the most powerful beings of their kind."

"Wow…I had no idea!" she thought for a moment, "So I probably got the trait from an ancestor of mine who lived hundreds of years ago."

"That is most likely the story." He nodded. "I've also heard that Armonia sorceresses have incredible voices," he leaned in closer to her, "Would you mind singing for me?"

"Y-you want to listen to _me_ sing?" a tint of pink splashed across her cheeks.

"Well of course," he smiled and leaned back a little, "just don't hypnotize me."

She giggled, "Ok."

She learned long ago how to control the hypnotic qualities of her voice so people wouldn't accidentally fall under the spell. She stood up from her seat but did not turn to face him since she was already nervous enough. She took a deep breath, and began to sing.

Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation.  
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination.  
Silently the senses abandon their defenses.

Softly, gently, night unfurls its splendor.  
Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender.  
Turn your face away from the garish light of day,  
Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light,  
And listen to the music of the night.

She didn't sing the rest for fear that her nerves had gotten the better of her and would take its toll on her voice. To her surprise, Alucard slowly clapped in approval.

"Well now," he smirked and crossed his arms as he stood up, "I'm impressed. It seems that the Armonia sorceresses live up to their reputation. Also, I'm surprised to find that you're a fan of The Phantom of the Opera." He joked light-heartedly.

"Yeah, I am." She said as she sheepishly scratched the back of her head, "I absolutely love it! Music of the Night is my favorite song."

"Oh really now?" he smoothly cupped her chin, "Then why did you stop singing? You sounded lovely." He smiled his signature devilishly handsome smile.

"Well, I uh…" she gulped, "I hate to admit it but I just haven't heard it in so long, I kind of forgot the lyrics." She laughed nervously, obviously embarrassed about the whole thing.

"If that's the case," Alucard then let go of her chin and swiftly held her hand, "meet me here when the sun goes down."

"Huh?" although she was confused, she agreed. "Ok?"

He gave a soft smile before he let go of her hand and left.

She blushed as she felt a strange, tingling sensation on the hand that he held in his grasp. 'I wonder what he meant by that? And why does he want to come back here?' She thought as she stared at the palm of her hand.

Still confused, she made her way back to her home-away-from-home as she continued to ponder over an answer, to which she couldn't figure out one.

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**Well, that's it for now! If you have any suggestions or criticism on how to make this chapter flow better, please tell me in a review! I could really use the help! **


	8. The Armonia and The Vampire

**Sooo sorry I haven't updated in some time!! My computer crashed so I had to wait to get that fixed and with the 4th of July and what not, well needless to say I was exhausted. But here it is! The chapter you've all been waiting for! **

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After the strange encounter with Alucard and finding no answers to her questions, Amelia decided that she should at least look for more information about the Armonias. There was only one place she knew of where she could possibly find something about them, Jack's library.

She walked through the house and made her way to the door that led to tower. Oddly, she didn't see The Pumpkin King anywhere in the house. She opened the door and ascended the winding staircase to his room. Carefully, she peeked her head in and again the skeleton was nowhere in sight.

"Eh? Where did he go?" she asked aloud as she walked fully inside the room. "Well, I hope he doesn't mind if I just browse through the bookcase." She said as she approached said large bookcase and climbed the ladder.

Lightly, she grazed her index finger over the spines of some of the books as she looked for a title that might apply to what she wanted to find. She pulled out a few here and there but with no luck. She pushed on one of the shelves to move the ladder further down. She pulled out some books again and skimmed through the pages. Yet again, her efforts were in vain.

"Looking for something?" a masculine voice spoke from behind her.

"Wah!" Amelia let out a shriek in surprise and lost her balance on the ladder. "Whoa, whoa!" she had begun to fall back and squeezed her eyes shut as she braced for impact with the tile floor below.

However, she never reached the ground for she felt someone's arms catch her before she collided with the hard tile. It was Jack who had caught the clumsy sorceress with ease.

She opened an eye as she looked up, but then they both snapped wide open. "J-Jack!?"

"You should be more careful." He chuckled and grinned down at the teenager still in his arms.

She scrambled up onto her own two feet and turned to him with her head bowed as she tried to fight down the blush of embarrassment that threatened to spread across her cheeks. "I'm s-so sorry!" her words sped up as she continued to talk. "I didn't mean to fall!" she sheepishly scratched the back of her head, all the while still avoided eye contact. "I guess I really ought to watch my feet." She laughed at her own clumsiness.

"You don't have to apologize," he waved his bony hand for emphasis, "It was my fault for startling you."

She looked up and saw that he was smiling kindly at her. Apparently, it was contagious because she couldn't help but smile too.

"Now, why is it you were searching through my books?" he asked curiously as he crossed his arms.

"Oh! Well, I wanted to know about Armonia sorcerers." She held her hands behind her back.

"The Armonias?" he raised a would-be eyebrow.

"Yeah, you see," she avoided eye contact again and found the corner of the room to be quite interesting, "Alucard believes I'm an Armonia after I told him my first magical ability I discovered about myself."

"Hmm," he grasped his chin in thought, "that would make sense actually. I guess I just never bothered to figure out what you were myself." He chuckled lightly, "Here, I know a book that should answer your questions." He pushed the ladder further down the bookcase before he climbed up and grabbed a book off one of the shelves. He came back down and handed it to Amelia.

"_Mythical Beings and Creatures_." She read the title aloud and shrugged her shoulders before she opened the book and skimmed its contents until she found what she wanted. "Ah ha! Armonia sorcerers!" as she read the page, she found that everything Alucard had told her was indeed true.

_Armonia Sorcerers are the rarest and most powerful of the spell-casting beings. They are able to hypnotize any living creature using their angel-like voices, which put their victims into a trance thus allowing the Armonia full control over them. They release the captives by reciting a simple rhyme that lifts the spell._

_In a single family, only one Armonia is born every so many years, varying between a few generations to several centuries. It is impossible to tell when the next will be born in a family. It is common that the first child of the chosen generation will become the Armonia. It is unknown why so few of them exist. However, it is believed that they live to keep peace between the magical world and the human world so one is born every time that peace is threatened._

The next passage really took her by surprise.

_For a normal Armonia, their powers will be fully developed sixteen years after their birth. At which time, their greatest weakness comes into affect. On the nights of a New Moon, from sundown to sunrise of the next day, they lose their voice completely. However, on nights of a Full Moon, they are at their most powerful and do not need to recite incantations for most spells._

While she read, Jack was contemplating how she came to know about the Armonias.

'I still think that Alucard is not one to be trusted so easily.' He crossed his arms and mentally sighed, 'Although, I might be overreacting. After all, I am her guardian. And I know better than anyone that she is more than capable of taking care of herself.' He glanced at the teenager, who was eagerly reading nearby, and couldn't help but smile. Another thought occurred to him as he turned his attention to the setting sun outside the large windows.

'Why is it that I never noticed before that she is indeed an Armonia. It makes perfect sense.' His expression turned more serious, 'Now that I think about it, I should have realized it the moment I met Amelia. After all, she did hypnotize me by singing.'

His thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the very sorceress he was pondering over.

"Jack?" she still held the book open even though she was looking at him.

"Hm?" he turned toward her.

"Have you ever known an Armonia?" she asked, "Besides me, that is."

"Not that I can recall." He stated as he scratched his head in thought. "Why?"

"It says here," she pointed at a passage in the book, "That Armonias lose their voices every night of the new moon after their sixteenth birthday. Is that really true?"

He gestured for her to hand him the book and she complied. He quickly read over the page before answering. "I suppose so, I don't know for certain." He beamed at her, "I guess we'll find out sooner or later." He chuckled.

She laughed a little as well. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, "Hey Jack, what kind of sorcerer are you?"

"Me?" he pointed to himself. "Well, I'm certainly not a rare kind such as yourself." he stated as he began to climb up the ladder to put the book back in its place, "I'm what they call an Atrum Sorcerer." He stepped off the ladder back down on the floor.

"_Ooh_, what's that exactly?" she was extremely curious and wanted to learn more about him.

"A master of black magic, I personally specialize in shadows." He held his hands behind his back as he walked over to one of the windows, "That's why I taught you so many spells that have to do with shadows when you first started because it was the easiest to teach you."

"Wow, really!?" she followed him over to the window, "Cool!"

"Glad you think so." He chuckled, "Because I'm rather plain compared to you."

"Nah, I think you're amazing!" she beamed.

"Thanks," he smiled sheepishly.

She gazed out the window and saw that the sun had just disappeared beneath the horizon. "Well, I've got…somewhere to be so…" she nervously scratched the back of her head. "I'll see you later!" she quickly headed to the staircase.

"Amelia? Where are you—" Jack began but she dashed down the stairs before he could finish, "going…" he trailed off.

With a sigh, he crossed his arms and continued to stare out the window as the last rays of the sun were swallowed by the night sky. After a moment, he shrugged and turned on his heel toward his library.

'I had better learn more about Armonias as well.' He thought to himself as he went to grab the book off the shelf again.

Once she had reached the bottom of the steps, Amelia ceased her running to catch her breath. 'I don't think Jack would like the idea of me going to see Alucard at nightfall.' She thought, 'Not necessarily the smartest idea for a human, but I'll be fine.'

Quietly, she walked down the hallway into the living room. As she approached the steps that led down to the front door, something white whizzed by her face. She then heard something bark behind her. She whipped around and was face to face with none other than her loyal ghostly friend.

"Zero! You surprised me there." She spoke quietly.

The ghost dog had a curious expression and gestured to the steps as if he asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see Alucard," she then held up her index finger as if to instruct the dog, "But don't let Jack know. I don't want him to worry, ok?"

Zero gave a small grunt, which meant that he didn't like the idea, but he nodded his head in agreement.

"Good boy." She smiled and patted him on the head, "I'll be back in fifteen minutes." And with that, she turned and exited.

As she descended the steps to the front gate, Amelia heaved a sigh. "I don't like lying to Jack, but I don't want to trouble him." She also knew that his protectiveness might kick in had she told him, but didn't want to think much of it.

She approached the gate and gently started to push it open. However, it let out a loud, rusty creak and she immediately stopped. She looked at it with determination and whispered, "_Levitazione_."

Quietly, she rose into the air and glided over the gate. She landed with a soft tap on the ground once she was on the other side of the gate.

With one last glance back, she made her way to the town square. She spotted the bench against the stone wall where she had been before. She approached it but decided to stand next to a leaf-less tree nearby. As she leaned against it, her eyes searched the square for the familiar silhouette of her vampire friend. The full moon rose behind her illuminating the darkness and a very faint sound reached her ears. At first, she wasn't sure what it was but then the sound grew louder. Singing, someone was singing and it was coming from behind her.

Amelia whipped around and looked for the source of the sound, which was loud enough now that she could make out the words.

_Softly, gently, night unfurls its splendor.  
Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender.  
Turn your face away from the garish light of day.  
Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light,  
And listen to the music of the night…_

As she listened to the smooth, masculine voice sing her favorite piece of music, she began to feel lightheaded as if her mind was in a fog. She closed her eyes and shook her head trying to get rid of the bizarre sensation. When she opened her eyes again, a strange mist had rolled in and the voice sang again.

_Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world.  
Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before.  
Let your soul take you where you long to be!_

_Only then can you belong to me..._

As he sang, Alucard slowly materialized atop of the wall as the mist dissipated. His crimson eyes were so captivating that Amelia couldn't help but stare in awe. Not to mention she was in shock because she had no idea he could sing and so well.

_Floating, falling, sweet intoxication.  
Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation.  
Let the dream begin, let your darkest side give in,  
To the power of the music that I write.  
The power of the music of the night, of the night!_

Smoothly, he glided down from the top of the stone wall and landed softly on the ground just a few feet from her.

She felt her face begin to heat up at their eyes met. She had known Alucard was indeed a handsome man but at that moment, she had never felt so drawn to a guy by just looks alone. But it was his voice that sealed the deal, which was Amelia finally admitting to herself that she _really_ liked him. And judging by his expression, he knew it too.

_You alone can make my song take flight.  
Help me make the music of the night…_

He ended the song and approached the still stunned, love-struck sorceress. He held out his hand and a black rose materialized in his palm.

A soft gasp escaped her lips as she gazed in awe at the gorgeous flower.

Alucard then slowly brought it to his lips and tenderly kissed a petal. Magically, the black rose suddenly turned a beautiful, blood red. It seemed to glow in the pale light of the moon as he offered it to her. He then gently took her hand in his and looked her directly in the eyes. It almost seemed as if he stared right through her and into her soul. Her mind was once again covered in a cloud and she could swear he heard her heart speed up, as each beat seemed to grow louder.

"And now our paths are intertwined, I pray you'll be forever mine."

She was slightly surprised by his words for she new exactly what he meant. She was a little nervous for she had never been in a relationship before, but she found herself unable to resist his alluring charm. With a small smile, she accepted the rose and gave a soft nod as her answer.

He smiled in return, brought her hand still held in his up to his lips, and placed a gentle kiss upon it.

"Thank you," he spoke barely above a whisper as he gazed into her eyes once more. He released her hand and smoothly took his leave, disappearing into the night.

Amelia watched him until she could no longer see his silhouette in the distance. She then looked down at the rose she delicately held with her fingers. A faint blush splashed across her cheeks as a small smile graced her lips. The strange, light-headed sensation finally went away, but she paid no mind to it as she continued to stare at the rose and thought about the man whom she just agreed to be with.

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**Gasp! Amelia is Alucard's girlfriend!? WHAT!? Just what will happen now that they are together!? Will she reveal her secret? Does Alucard already know?? Review and the next chapter will be here before you know it! **


	9. Busted!

**Oh my god! I actually managed to update when I planned to!! It must be a sign of the Apocalypse!! Lol! Just kidding! **

**I'd like to give a special shout out to elizemail, XxcrimsonxgothicxtidexX, JainaZekk621, hikari123 and ElectricityRains for their awesome reviews!! Thanks so much! Keep them coming!! D **

**Now, on with the story! **

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The full moon above nestled in the blanket of the dark night illuminated the small town of creeps and crawls below. All of its creatures shut off the lights and turned in for the night, except for two. A tall tower that jutted out of a house overlooked the entire city was still lit up by a small lamp inside next to a desk, where a skeleton in a pinstripe suit with a bat-bowtie sat reading a book entitled _Mythical Beings and Creatures_.

"Quiet night, eh Zero?" Jack asked his loyal companion who had been lightly dozing in his little basket.

The ghost dog gave a soft bark in agreement and lowered its head to rest on the edge of the doggy bed. His ears sank as his normal, happy expression was replaced with one of sadness and worry. Zero couldn't help but wonder how his other friend was doing outside, at night, with a vampire. He had kept his end of the deal not to let Jack know of her whereabouts, but he couldn't help but be a little concerned. It was past the fifteen minutes Amelia had said that she would be gone and still no site of her. The ghostly canine looked up at his master and companion. He had read over the same passage in that book several times now. Zero couldn't help but feel guilty for keeping something from him. Not being able to take it any longer, he floated up from his basket, up to the desk, and began to bark.

"Huh? What is it Zero?"

--

Amelia walked slowly in the direction to her home away from home. Her feet seemed to move on their own accord for her mind was in a daze. Over and over she replayed in her mind what had just happened between her and Alucard. She sighed dreamily. She never had a boyfriend before and never imagined that her first one would be so perfect. He was tall, dark-haired, handsome, well mannered, and best of all, he could sing.

She inhaled the rose's heavenly sent as she continued on her way. She twirled in a circle happily then began to walk properly again. Jack's home came into view when suddenly she stopped in her tracks. Her expression was a mixture of worry and fear.

'Oh no!' she thought, 'How am I _ever_ going to explain this to Jack?' The idea of not telling him at all crossed her mind but she immediately discarded it. 'No, I already betrayed his trust once and I don't intend on doing so ever again.' The memory of becoming Black Widow because of her belief in a lie had entered her mind. Even after practically six years, she still hadn't forgave herself and failed to understand why Jack had.

'Ok, I know I have to tell him, but how?' she mentally questioned herself as she started toward the house again.

She thought and thought but unfortunately, she arrived at the front gate before she had come up with a good answer to her problem. Slowly, she titled her head up toward the top of the entrance. Never before had the Jack O' Lantern shape in the gate looked so frightening. But then again, her nerves _had_ started to get the better of her. She remembered what happened the last time she tried to go through the entryway. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she concentrated her magic and whispered the spell. "_Levitazione_." She rose into the air, floated over the gate, and landed with a soft tap on the other side. She looked up to the front door and gulped, her heart raced and beat so loudly she thought it would wake the neighbors.

'Ok, if I can just get inside without him noticing, then I can tell him in the morning.' She mentally planned, 'That way, I can stay up all night if I have to coming up with a good way to explain everything.'

With that in mind, she used the levitation spell again to glide just above the steps so she wouldn't make any noise. When she reached the front door, she turned the doorknob as quiet as possible and hoped against hope that it wouldn't creak. With a gentle nudge, the door opened silently. She let out a soft sigh in relief. She then peeked around it to make sure no one was at the top of the staircase. Certain that the coast was clear, she levitated barely over the steps yet again. She landed about three-quarters of the way up to scan what she could see of the living room. When she confirmed that there wasn't anyone there, she floated the rest of the way in and landed softly at the top. She held the rose behind her back and fully entered the room.

"Quite the lovely rose you have there Ami." A voice spoke behind her that made the hair on the back of her neck stand straight up.

She whipped around to find Jack sitting in a chair off to the side of the top of the stairwell with a less than happy expression. The single lamp that was on next to where he sat had further emphasized his demeanor. His legs were crossed, elbows rested on the arms of the chair, and his bony fingers interlocked together in front of the lower half of his face. To her, he looked like a suspicious father who had caught his daughter getting back home from a date _far_ later than planned.

"May I ask who gave it to you?" He questioned with a suspicious tone and arched a would-be eyebrow.

She gulped and scratched her head sheepishly while holding the rose in front of her, wishing she had more time to think of a good way to tell him what had happened.

"Erm, Alucard gave it to me." She found her toe to be quite interesting as she started to dig it into the floor.

"Oh did he now?" he got up and walked toward her, his eyes held a look of interest. Although for Amelia, she thought she was in for a serious scolding.

"Do you know what it means when a girl receives a rose from a vampire?" he crossed his arms and waited for her answer.

Still looking down at the floor, she nodded. "Yeah, He and I are a couple now."

Since she wasn't facing him, Amelia didn't see his body suddenly stiffen at her words. However, his attitude changed.

"Well I'd say that's great news then!" his demeanor was practically opposite of what it was just a second ago.

"Eh!? It is?" She looked up at him, very confused.

"Of course! This means that you're fitting in better than before!" he said enthusiastically, "_And_, vampires are actually very pleasant people, much more mature than average humans."

She was still extremely confused and in shock. Wasn't he angry with her just a minute before?

"Um, Let me get this straight…you're _not_ mad at me?" she asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Mad at you?" he chuckled, "Nonsense! I was a little worried to be honest, but I know you can very well handle yourself."

"Yeah, out alone at night with a vampire wasn't really the smartest decision," she laughed, "but I'm glad you understand." She heaved a mental sigh of relief.

He then walked up beside her and his attitude flipped again. "Just don't do it again." He said sternly and continued to walk past her as he made his way back up to his quarters.

She felt stricken with fear yet again as he spoke those words to her. She stayed in the living room for a few moments after he left before deciding to retire to her own room as well.

Up in the tower, Jack is pacing back and forth with a serious expression. After a few moments of silence, he let out what he had been holding back.

"How could I let this _happen_!? A human and a _vampire_!?" he had started to flail his arms to further emphasize how upset he was, "She's my responsibility and I let her walk right into one of the worst possible situations!" He then scoffed, "Handle herself, yeah maybe against most of the creatures in Halloween Town, but not a vampire whom she has _feelings_ for! She won't be able to protect herself if she fears hurting him even though he's the one who will hurt her!"

He finally ceased his pacing and thought for a moment. "Maybe I should have more faith in her, I know she's a capable sorceress and I'm probably just jumping to conclusions…" But the possibility of her being hurt by Alucard still ate at him.

"Zero!" he called.

Said ghost dog zoomed into the room with his normal happy expression.

"Zero, thank you for letting me know about Amelia earlier. Now, I have a job for you." He whispered in the dog's ear.

"Got it?" he asked when he had finished giving his loyal companion the instructions.

The ghostly canine nodded and zoomed off with determination.

Meanwhile, the teenaged sorceress was in her room and sat on the edge of her bed wearing her nightgown. She stared out the window as she thought over her rather hectic night. She finally let out a yawn from exhaustion and got into bed. Once she was comfortable, she looked out the window at the full moon again.

"Why do I feel so strange?" she spoke barely above a whisper as her eyes became half-lidded. "I feel as though…as though…" she succumbed to sleep before she could complete her sentence.

In the corner of the room, the reflection of the full-length mirror was some sort of mysterious fog. It began to morph and take shape that of a young woman. Finally, the image cleared and it was the young woman who had appeared in Amelia's family heirloom mirror. She looked exactly like Amelia, except her hair was darker and shorter. She was dressed in a ghostly looking, yet elegant white gown. Her expression was soft but worried. She outstretched her hand toward the slumbering sorceress with the same face as her, but she couldn't move through the glass. With a look of determination, she spoke in a hushed tone.

"_Somnium of preteritus ostendo sum verum_." A ball of white light left her hand and went through the mirror into the room. It floated over to the sleeping girl and enveloped her head before it faded away.

The woman in the mirror gave a sad, soft smile before she closed her eyes and disappeared into the fog.

'_Wha? Where am I?' Amelia thought as she found herself not in her bedroom, but in some sort of cemetery, and not the one near Spiral Hill either. _

_She walked among the tombstones, glancing at a couple of the dates. They were all from the 1700s or early 1800s, and they looked new. _

'_Have I gone back in time?' She looked up to the sky and saw that it was dark and the crescent moon was out. She looked down at her owns self and saw that she was in her normal nightgown. She walked around a little more in a confused daze. A weeping willow tree came into view and she wasn't sure, but she thought she heard quiet sobs. Quietly, she approached the sound and hid behind a gravestone large enough to keep her from sight. She peeked over the top of the tombstone and there a few yards in front of her sat a girl about her own age crying over a dearly departed. _

"_Mother…" the young woman said. She wore a black and white stripped Victorian gown. Her hair was dark and wavy, and long enough to cover her shoulders. Amelia couldn't see her face because her back was to her._

_A tall man stepped out from the shadows, but he stood underneath the willow tree so the moon's light didn't reach him and the confused sorceress couldn't see his face. The girl who had cried over her mother's grave stood up and turned toward the man. Amelia gasped, for what she saw greatly took her by surprise. She and the young woman had the same face. She realized just who she was, the ghost whom she saw in her family's mirror. _

"_It's you." The girl breathed. "You startled me." She laughed softly. _

"_My apologies mademoiselle." The man's voice was so smooth that he could easily sweep any girl of their feet by just speaking. He sounded vaguely familiar to Amelia, but she just wasn't sure. "What are you doing here so late at night?" _

"_My beloved mother." She answered, "I miss her greatly, I just had to come and see her." She held her hands together as if in prayer. _

"_Come here my dearest." He said, to which she complied. The hidden sorceress could see that the two figures embraced. _

"_It will be alright, I promise you." He soothed her. _

"_Thank you, my love." She rested her head on his shoulder. _

"_Of course." he brought up one hand and placed it on her shoulder, "You'll get to see her soon." _

_Before the young woman had time to react, he leaned down toward her neck. Amelia couldn't really tell what happened, but she was pretty sure that he had bit her. _

_The girl let out a weak cry of pain and began to go limp in his arms. However, she did manage to shout something. "_Ego reprobo vos intus a pallens somes ut laqueus monasteriense intus_!" _

_The man threw her to the ground where she landed on her mother's grave. He cursed and a bright, white light engulfed him as he let out a yell. The light soon faded away and the man seemed to be shorter, more boyish than before. He cursed again under his breath and dashed off. _

_Amelia was shocked beyond belief. She knew that the young woman had just cursed the man so that meant she was a sorceress. Quickly, she got up from her hiding spot and dashed over to the girl as fast as her legs would carry her. _

"_Are you alright!?" it seemed to be a rather stupid thing to ask, but she didn't really know how to respond to what she just saw. _

_Apparently, the discovered mystic didn't hear her for she didn't speak, move, or anything to acknowledge the teenager's presence. _

"Niveus lux lucis , signum meus animus intus meus pondero statua_." She whispered and her eyes closed. A white glow appeared around her body, then floated above and transformed into a small sphere. It rose higher into the air then shot off into the distance like a bullet. _

"_No…" Amelia said softly. Tears began to well up in her eyes. "What's going on!?" She shouted angrily at the night sky as tears began to poor down her cheeks, "Why am I here!? Why am I being shown this!?" _

All of a sudden, the sleeping sorceress jolted awake in a cold sweat.

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**Dun dun dun!! What could this dream possibly mean? Just who is this mysterious ghost who looks exactly like Amelia? The sooner you review, the sooner you'll find out! **


	10. Just Who is The Mirror Ghost?

**Ok, I didn't exactly post on the day that I wanted but still it's better than before! Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who reviewed!! **

**Jwhaler82: Thanks for your idea for the story! I'm definitely giving it some thought and hopefully I'll be able to come up with something.**

**Well, enough from me. Enjoy the chapter!**

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Once she finally realized that she was no longer dreaming and clamed down, she sat up and tried to figure out exactly what was going on.

"Ok, I know I was shown that girl's death for a reason," she thought aloud, "but why?" She placed her hand on her forehead and attempted to recall any important details from the dream.

"Well, she was a sorceress for one, and looks just like me…" She gasped, "Maybe…maybe she's the Armonia that came before me!" She rested her chin in the palm of her hand in thought, "But how can I know for sure?" She didn't have a clue how and wasn't even certain that was the real reason for the vision from the past.

"Well, it's pretty obvious she died from being bitten by a vampire…maybe it's just my nerves getting the better of me again." She figured. "That would make sense…" she drifted and let out a yawn. "But then why did I dream of that mirror ghost instead of myself?"

Unable to keep her eyes open any longer, she lied back down to try and get some much-needed sleep, hoping that the answer would come to her. Unfortunately, she had a dreamless night so when she woke in the morning, her questions remained unanswered.

With a sigh, she got out of bed and stretched her arms above her head to fully wake up. She walked over to her large bedroom window and pulled on the black cord that opened up the thick, crimson drapes. Light from the morning sun poured into her room and glistened off a crystal vase on her nightstand. It held a breath-taking red rose that was perfectly flawless in every aspect. She stared at the gorgeous flower for a moment and let out a sudden gasp.

"Yesterday _really_ happened!?" She started to panic and paced around in a circle. "I accepted Alucard as my _boyfriend_!? No, no, no, no. This isn't good at all! I've never had a boyfriend! And it's really bad to start off a relationship with a _lie_! He thinks I'm a sorceress when I'm really just a human!"

She continued her hurried footsteps in hysteria and scolded herself over and over again about the whole thing being a bad idea.

"Not to mention the fact I've never been kissed." She suddenly ceased her movement and practically stood frozen in her spot.

"Oh no…" the memory of when they first met flashed through her mind. He had took her hand in his and kissed it even though she was practically a complete stranger. "How will he greet his _girlfriend_!?" She blushed as crimson as the drapes and began to panic again.

"My first kiss is supposed to be special." She paced in a circle like before, "With _someone_ special!" She stopped and glared at her reflection in the mirror. "Shame on you Amelia! How can you be so rude? Who knows? Maybe Alucard _is_ that someone special…" she held her upper arm with the opposite hand as stared out the window. She was still very nervous about the whole thing.

After a few moments had passed, she got dressed in her normal sorceress garb and put her elbow-length hair up in its usual ponytail. She walked over to her nightstand where the rose was and picked up her circlet that was set next to it. She placed it on her head and the blue gem that hung down from the grown glimmered brilliantly in the sunlight. She looked at her reflection in the mirror with a rather confused look on her face. She felt as though she had hit a mental crossroads and didn't know which way to go. With a sigh, she decided that she shouldn't put off the ghost issue any longer and confront Jack about it.

Determined to find some answers, she made her way through the house and up the winding staircase to the tower.

"Jack?" she asked before she walked the rest of the way up.

"Yes, come in Ami." He spoke from his chair at his desk.

She approached him, not really sure how to start. "Um, could I talk to you about something?" she scratched the back of her head.

"Certainly!" he looked up and beamed at her, "What's on your mind?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure how to put this so I'm just going to say it." She stated.

"Ok…" he could tell something was bothering her.

"I think a ghost has been haunting me." She half-expected him to laugh and tell her that was preposterous, but then again he is the King of _Halloween_.

"Really now? Care to go more in depth?" Her statement had peaked his interest.

"Well, I guess it all started when my mother gave me this old hand mirror that's apparently been in my family for generations." She explained, "I saw someone in the reflection that looked exactly like me, only it wasn't me! She had darker hair and pale, practically white, skin. I thought that she wouldn't follow me here, but I heard someone tell me to leave when I was in the cemetery outside of town. They said that I was no longer safe and I had to leave. And just last night, I had a dream about her!"

"What happened in your dream?" he inquired.

"She died! She was mourning her dead mother when this strange man appeared. I couldn't see what he looked like, but when she hugged him, he bit her!" her words had surprised the undead skeleton. "She then shouted out a curse and white light swallowed the man, so I know she's a sorceress. When the light died down, the man was shorter and he seemed _younger_. He took off and right before she died. She said some sort of spell and I think it was her soul that flew out of her. It was like a bright, white orb and it shot off into the distance. After that, I woke up."

"My, my. Quite the dilemma." He thought for a moment. "I'd say it's probably an ancestor of yours, which would explain why she resembles you. Is there any sorcerers in your family that you know of?" when she shook her head no, he continued. "Then she's probably where you got your powers from. As for the vampire, I'm not really sure. Do you have an idea of what time period it was?"

"All of the tombstones in the cemetery were from the 1700s to the early 1800s and they all looked relatively new, none were worn." She replied.

"Hmm…well, there were more vampires in the mortal realm then than there are now. It could mean a number of things really." He concluded.

"One more thing," her expression turned very grim, "When the man appeared, he called her his beloved."

"That's something vampires are known for, tricking young women into thinking that they're in love," his demeanor changed somewhat, almost angry, "and then draining away their life without warning."

"But that still doesn't explain why she's haunting me." She quickly changed the subject for she sensed that he was becoming protective again.

"It might be that she wants her death to be avenged and her soul won't rest until her killer has been brought to justice." He crossed his arms. "Who knows, maybe the vampire is still alive and she wants you to do something about it."

"But why me? Why now?" she asked for she still didn't understand the ghost's motive. "Why didn't she bug someone else about it during her own century?"

"I'm not for certain, but it might be because of the fact you're a sorceress like her and know about the existence of vampires, that they're not just legends." He stated.

"Well, I can't go around hunting down a vampire that killed someone hundreds of years ago. I have my own problems to deal with." She crossed her arms, "Not to mention I'm dating one…" she said under her breath.

Jack apparently didn't hear her last comment. He walked over to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry too much about it. If it gets worse, tell me and I'll take care of it." He smiled warmly at her.

A light blush splashed across her cheeks and her heart skipped a beat, which seemed to happen a lot lately.

"W-well," she cleared her throat, "I've got to get back to helping out with the Halloween decorations." She made her way toward the stairwell. "Still have a lot to do you know!" she laughed nervously and hastily made her descent. Her heart was racing so fast it felt as though it would burst. Once she had reached the bottom, she stopped heaved a great sigh of relief.

'Well, at least I know of one good thing that will come out of having a boyfriend,' she thought, 'I'll go back to thinking of Jack as my friend and nothing more.'

Determined to get her mind off of things, she set out what she had said she would do and made her way outside to the town square. Amelia worked vigorously like all of the citizens around her and a couple hours flew by. During that time, Alucard had shown up and, much to her appreciation, helped her out with the preparations in any way he could. She was very grateful to him and even though there was a bunch of people around, she had a great time with him. She was even a little reluctant when he told her that she ought to take a break. However, she took his advice and made her way back to her Halloween residence. There was even a skip in her step as she walked and even hummed to herself. Her thoughts circled around her unbelievably perfect boyfriend, who just so happened to be a vampire. Still humming to herself, she entered the house and casually made her way up the steps to the living room. She was a little surprised to find Doctor Finklestein next to the Pumpkin King. They sat down at a small table crouched over plans of some sort. It seemed to be blueprints for something. She waltzed over to the two of them but before she could get a good look, Jack suddenly stood and rolled up the sheets of paper.

"Well, I believe that's all Doctor." He stated as he gave his signature grin.

Said man in the automatic wheelchair spotted the teenaged sorceress nearby. "Oh yes, I do think so my boy."

"Oh! Hello Ami, how is everything going?" Jack pretended as though he just noticed her.

"Um, fine. I'm just taking a break…what are you guys doing?" she arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"Oh nothing you need to worry about my dear child." The bald, and slightly mad, scientist replied with a smile.

"Ok…" she was a little suspicious of their strange behavior. She then glanced at the old grandfather clock in the corner of the room. "Well, I'll be in my room for a little while until it's time for me to go back to the town square."

She began to make her way to her quarters and glanced over her shoulder at them one last time before disappearing down the hallway. When they heard the click of her door being shut, Jack let out a held breath.

"That was close." He said to his companion.

"Maybe the next time you come up with another plan of yours, we should discuss it at my laboratory instead." The doctor stated.

The Pumpkin King laughed and scratched his head sheepishly for he knew that he was probably right.

"It's barely been a day and she's already acting different…" The skeleton said suddenly, and totally off subject.

Doctor Finklestein gave him a questioning look for the random statement.

"Erm, well you see…Amelia and Alucard, the new vampire, apparently are together now and well, I've already noticed a change in her usual behavior." He explained rather awkwardly.

"Ah I see." He adjusted his small glasses, "Well it's rather obvious what the cause of it is." He crossed his arms and then stated simply, "She's falling in love."

Jack nearly choked at his words and found himself unable to respond.

"From what I can gather what I know about humans—" the scientist was cut off.

"Humans!? Who said anything about Amelia being a human!?" the Pumpkin King hastily denied any assumptions that his good friend might have about the young princess.

"I'm not saying she _is_." The doctor raised an eyebrow. "I'm saying that because she spent the last couple of years among humans, the way they act probably has rubbed off on her. Right now, she is acting how a normal human girl would act when she begins to fall in love." He explained.

"Oh…of course!" Jack tried to hide his nervousness.

"Then again, it is only a theory." He adjusted his glasses again and his expression turned very serious. "But the fact that she is in a relationship with a vampire is very dangerous. If Alucard ever has an unquenchable thirst for blood, her very life will end right then and there. If she trusts him too much, then she might end up letting her guard down and won't be able to stop him until it's too late. You realize this yes?"

"Yes I am aware of the risks." The sorceress's guardian stated. "I had nothing to do with them getting together and actually I'd feel better if they were separated." He crossed his arms.

"Really now?" Doctor Finklestein was rather surprised by his leader's words for he had always known the skeleton to completely trust a total stranger without hesitation. "Honestly I thought you would have more faith in her than that." He chuckled, "Really taking on the parental figure are we?"

"I'm only looking out for her." Jack looked down at the ground.

"I understand that you two are particularly close and you just want what's best for her," the scientist consoled, "But Amelia _does_ need to learn how to fend for herself. Isn't that kind of the point of why you put her in charge of Halloween this year?"

The skeleton in the pinstripe suit gave a curt nod as his answer.

"Besides, if she does get into trouble, you and I both know that you'll be at her side in an instant." Doctor Finklestein adjusted his chair so that it was facing toward the staircase to the front door. "I had just wanted to make sure you knew what the dangers were. Who knows, maybe this Alucard fellow is actually the right young man for her." And with that, made his way across the living room and to the stairs. He pressed a button on the wall and the steps to the door as well as the steps outside folded into a ramp. He took his leave and descended downward.

"I still don't think so." Jack said once he was sure the doctor was gone and glared at the wall. After a moment, he called for his ever-loyal companion and a ghostly canine zoomed into the room. "Zero, you're job is about to start."

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**Ooohh, what could Jack and Doctor Finklestein be planning? What on earth is Zero's job!? Will we ever find out the mysterious ghost's identity? Reviews make me type faster! :)  
**


	11. A Musical Memory

**W00t!! New chapter! Hope you all like it! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Nightmare Before Christmas and if I did, I'd give it back to Tim Burton because he just rocks like that...**

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Later that afternoon, all of the work that was scheduled that day was finished early so everyone took a well-deserved rest of the day off. Amelia decided to spend her extra time with Alucard. They walked aimlessly together hand-in-hand around town, not really sure where they were headed but enjoyed each other's company.

"So Amelia, how close are you to becoming a master in sorcery?" the vampire asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, well I'm not sure." She tilted her head in thought. "I've mastered several spells and don't even have to use the incantations on a few if that gives you an idea. Of course, most of that I owe to Jack being an excellent instructor and all." She beamed.

"Well I would think that you're close. I can tell you're already very powerful." He smiled. "I mean, you must have gained your full powers years ago."

"Eh? Oh! Actually, I haven't turned sixteen yet. That's when I'll gain them according to one of the books Jack found in his library." She explained.

"You're kidding me." He was slightly taken aback, "But sorcerers age slowly. If you really are sixteen, you should still look like a child!"

"Well…that's because I spent the past few years in the human realm and I had to blend in!" she remembered her cover up, "I had to have the appearance of a normal human girl. Otherwise I would risk the discovery of the holidays, and I made a promise to Jack that I wouldn't reveal anything about this world."

"You know, you talk about him a lot." Alucard pointed out, mentally recalled her saying his name in almost all of their conversations. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were rather _fond_ of him." He arched an eyebrow.

"What!?" she was greatly surprised by his assumption, "No, no, no, no! It's not like that at all! He's like family to me and we're just really close, that's all." She clung onto his arm and rested her head on his shoulder, "Besides, I have you! And I wouldn't have it any other way." She beamed up at him.

He chuckled lightly and smiled at her as well. He let her lean on him for a few moments but he didn't really like the silence.

"Jumping back a few subjects," he stated, "What do you know about curses, seals and release spells?

"Um, not much really." She stood upright but still held onto his arm, "The closest I came was a banishment spell that I used nearly six years ago."

"Ah, I see. Didn't that have something to do with you becoming Pumpkin Princess?" he questioned.

She cringed at the nickname and glared at him. "I told you not to call me that _ever_ again."

"Why?" he teased.

"I just…don't like it!" she stated, becoming a little ticked.

"Why? I think it's cute." He leaned in closer to her and smirked.

"Well I don't." she huffed and turned her head away.

"I thought you were the kind of person who would be _honored_ to have a royal title." He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, for he knew she would get flustered.

"Hey! Cut it out." Just as he thought, she blushed red at his touch and jumped away a little. "If you don't stop, I won't tell how why I had to use the banishment spell."

"Fine, you're no fun." He chuckled as he gave in to her demands.

She smiled in triumph and went back to holding his hand.

"It's kind of a long story, but it goes like this." She began. "A rumor was going around town that the Boogie Man, though he's called Oogie Boogie, had escaped and was heading toward the other holiday realms to try and take over all of them."

"The _Boogie_ Man?" he said in disbelief, "You're kidding me, aren't you?"

"I'm serious! He's real!" she protested and then went back to her story. "As it turned out, the rumor was all a ploy to get Jack away from me for I was unknowingly kidnapped and taken to Oogie's lair. He convinced me that Jack was evil and was only using me for his own gain. I then agreed to help him take over Halloween Town by hypnotizing Jack into doing his bidding. But I was finally able to realize that Oogie had lied and that Jack was really my friend. So I broke the spell he was under and we worked together to take back the town. In the end, I was given the task of casting an extremely powerful banishment spell to make sure Oogie would never be able to set foot outside his home ever again. After that, Jack made a huge announcement that because I showed true bravery saving the town and overcoming my fears, he named me the Princess of Halloween."

"Wow, quite the story." He smiled, "Even when you were so young you were very strong, impressive."

"Thanks." She blushed at the compliment. "But honestly, I'm really not all that great."

"Oh but you _are_, Amelia. You're absolutely astounding." He stopped their walk and stood in front of her. He took her hands in his captured her ocean blue eyes with his crimson red colored ones. "It's one of the many reasons why I fell head over heels for you." He smiled.

"Oh stop." She laughed lightly as a pink blush splashed across her cheeks.

"I'm sorry that I can't help but find you _alluring_." His tone of voice had changed and began to lean in closer to her.

"U-uh…" she became flustered and very nervous. Suddenly, she saw something white zoom by out of the corner of her eyes.

"Amelia!" a familiar voice called.

She quickly turned to see Jack several yards away, he seemed to be searching for her because he hadn't noticed her yet. Alucard had stopped and he too was looking toward the source of the voice.

The young sorceress looked back up to her vampire boyfriend and muttered a quick apology before she ran to where the Pumpkin King stood. Secretly, she was relieved that he had called for her. "Yes Jack?" she said once she got close enough.

"Ah, there you are." He moved to face her. "I wanted to ask you a few things about the set up for the masquerade in the town square."

"Of course!" she beamed.

"Great! Follow me then." He turned on his heel and began to walk off with Amelia trailing close behind.

Alucard crossed his arms and glared at the two as they made their way across town.

"At this rate, I'll never be able to gain back what I lost, so long as that _insufferable_ Pumpkin King keeps getting in the way." He growled. "I'm running out of time!"

He then sauntered off angrily and failed to notice a ghostly canine appear out of a tree close to where Jack had stood. It then took off in the direction where the tall skeleton and the young sorceress were headed.

--

Late that evening, Amelia wandered absentmindedly around Jack's house, not really looking for anything in particular. The Pumpkin King had gone into town momentarily on an errand so she was left behind alone, bored, with a wandering mind. Alucard's words from earlier that day rang in her head.

"What is Jack to me, really?" she asked aloud as she strolled down the long corridor on the first floor. "He's my dearest friend. He cares for me and looks out for me. But…" she watched her feet as she walked, "If that's true, then why did I have that strange dream about him? It just doesn't make any sense!" she shook her head.

"I'm in a wonderful relationship with the most perfect guy and still there's this nagging at the back of my mind! What is it? What does it _mean_?" She glared down at her feet, but then decided that she had best let the matter drop for it just wasn't that important.

To keep her curious mind occupied, she turned around and opened random doors along the corridor. She discovered another library, a storage room full of Halloween props, and most surprising a large room with mirrors along the side of one wall with practically no furniture. She didn't realize that it was the very same room her strange dream with Jack took place, for something else that was against the wall adjacent to the mirrors caught her eye. A _piano_. Not just any old piano though, beautiful intricate designs were carved into the dark wood and even the music stand alone was a piece of artwork. It seemed rather out of place considering it didn't have any cracks in it at all or appear the least bit scary. She gently trailed her index finger along the woodwork, just itching to sit down and play. She glanced at the door before she gave into her desire and sat down on the bench. Quietly, she lifted the key cover and was slightly surprised to find that all of the keys were still intact and not broken.

'But I wonder if it's even in tune.' She thought. 'It doesn't seem like it has been played much.'

She placed her hand upon the keys in the C position and played a few notes. She was even more astounded to find that it sounded perfect, like new almost. Her eyes glistened with excitement and then began to play a soft, slow tune. Her fingers gracefully pressed down the keys with practically no effort at all, as though she had been playing her whole life. In truth, Amelia had started piano lessons only a year before. She was a natural. She progressed faster than any of her teacher's other students with hardly any trouble.

Finally, she felt the song so much within her soul she opened her mouth to let out the voice that so longed to sing.

_It isn't far to Hushabye Mountain,_

_And your boat waits down by the key._

_The winds of night so softly, are sighing._

_Soon they will fly your troubles to sea. _

_So close your eyes on Hushabye Mountain._

_Wave goodbye, to cares of he day, _

_And watch your boat from Hushabye Mountain,_

_Sail far away from Lullaby Bay. _

She did a piano solo before she continued. As she played, she remembered a night nearly seven years ago. She had woken up in the middle of the night from a horrible nightmare. Jack had come in and gave her the teddy bear that she would keep for many, many years. He then sang to her a song, the very same song she was now playing, to help her drift into a peaceful slumber. She remembered his voice, how smooth and lulling it was. She had never forgotten that night, or the sound of his voice.

As she began to sing once more, she heard his voice sing along with her in her mind.

_So close your eyes on Hushabye Mountain. _

_Wave goodbye, to cares of the day, _

_And watch your boat from Hushabye Mountain,_

_Sail far away from Lullaby Bay…_

"You have quite the lovely voice, Amelia." The person she thought she had only imagined spoke from behind her.

She turned and there stood Jack, right next to her. How she hadn't heard him come in she'll never know.

"Your piano playing is just as astounding." He complimented and beamed at her.

"Y-you really think so?" a light blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Certainly." He grinned, "I also think our voices blend together quite nicely. We should sing together more often." He chuckled.

'That was really him singing!?' she thought as her face turned a deeper shade of red. She looked back down at her fingers on the keys, too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

"Don't be modest Ami." he rested a hand on her shoulder, "You have quite the musical talent."

What Amelia wanted to do at that point was to hide in a dark, secluded corner for she felt even more flushed, although he had merely given her small praise. Even more, when his hand touched her shoulder, she could have sworn her heart skipped a beat.

"W-well I haven't been p-playing for that long s-so I g-guess I'm just not used t-to such compliments." She stuttered, still staring at her hands as if they were the most fascinating things in the world.

"_Really_?" he removed his hand from her shoulder and crossed his arms, much to her relief. "To me, you sound as though you've been playing for several years, and singing since before you could talk." He laughed softly.

"Th-thank you." Her cheeks were still splashed pink as she gave a soft, yet grateful smile. "Um, well…it's getting late." She stood up from the piano bench, "I guess it's time to turn in." she closed the key cover and made her way over to the door.

"Alright then, goodnight Ami." He beamed at her as she turned and smiled as well before she took her leave.

Jack then sat down on the seat and heaved a deep sigh. He rested his head in the palm of his bony hand, lost in thought. After a few minutes had passed, he stood up.

"Zero." He spoke in a normal tone for he knew his canine companion was near.

Sure enough, the ghostly dog with the glowing Jack-O-Lantern nose floated up and out from within the piano.

"Zero, I'd like to thank you for telling me about Amelia earlier today." A slightly worried expression came across his features as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I know I really shouldn't have you spying on her, but it's better if I know when she's alone with that vampire so I can make sure nothing bad happens to her." He crossed his arms and looked solemnly at the floor, "I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost her on account of my own foolish mistake." He said more to himself than his loyal friend.

His demeanor changed to determination, even a little angry as he gazed at his reflection in the wall of mirrors.

"I will _not_ let a repeat of six years ago happen again. I promised I would look after her and protect her, even at the cost of my own undead life."

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**Oooh, Jack's being all protective again LOL! But wait! What could Alucard be talking about? Why is he running out of time?? Will Amelia _ever_ figure out her troublesome love life? The plot thickens...dun dun DUN!!**


	12. The Confessions of a Vampire

**Hello good readers! This is your author Mystic Spirit Angel speaking, and I would like to thank you for all of your amazing reveiws! It gives me such joy whenever I open my e-mail and find several messages from . So again, thank you all so much and have a wonderful time reading :)**

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Time flew by so quickly that before everyone knew it, it was October. But during such quick time, several more "coincidences" occurred in which Alucard was alone with Amelia and they were suddenly forced apart by some unforeseen reason. Such as, a thick fog that rolled in and the two couldn't see their hands in front of their faces while they were in the town square, a cloudless day which suddenly turned into a storm when they were outside, a swarm of spiders that chased away the poor frightened sorceress, and on a cloudy day, the sky suddenly opened up to let in the sun's light that would then hit the unsuspecting vampire, causing him to wince in pain. For some odd reason, neither of the two ever spotted a familiar ghostly canine figure that was always close by and then a tall dark figure would appear before such events happened. All in all, Alucard had yet to be able to make a move on Amelia while she still had yet to give her first kiss away. But it wasn't entirely Jack's doing that separated the vampire from the sorceress. At times when he'd lean in too close, the teenaged ruler would back away by making up some excuse like being exhausted from that day's work and wanting to go home. Even though they have been officially together for over a month, she was still shy of any close contact with him. Thankfully, he seemed to understand even though she never outright told him why.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't keep trying.

Amelia leaned against the railing of her balcony as she stared blankly up at the crescent moon, still dressed in her sorceress garb. Her thoughts were clouded with her relationship with Alucard over the time that had so quickly come and gone. To her, it felt as each day passed, her feelings for him would dwindle a little more. She heaved a deep sigh.

'What's wrong with me?' she mentally asked herself, 'Am I really that bad of a girlfriend?' she fixed her gaze toward the ground. 'I don't feel as attracted to him as when we first met. I just…I don't know.'

She folded her arms on the railing and rested her head on them like a pillow.

'I have a feeling that Alucard…isn't that special someone.' She thought to herself, a little ashamed of the fact.

Then, her sensitive ears to music picked up something in the distance. A masculine voice was singing and sounded like he had started to come closer. She stood up straight and tried to locate the source of the musical voice.

_Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world.  
Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before.  
Let your soul take you where you long to be!_

_Only then can you belong to me..._

A soft mist slowly rolled in along with the voice and remained among the trees just a few yards away from her balcony.

_Floating, falling, sweet intoxication.  
Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation.  
Let the dream begin, let your darkest side give in,  
To the power of the music that I write.  
The power of the music of the night, of the night!_

Alucard had materialized as the mist began to fade back into the darkness. He then outstretched his hand toward her.

_You alone can make my song take flight.  
Help me make the music of the night…_

She giggled softly. Whenever he met her at night, he would always sing to her. But he always saved _Music of the Night_ for special occasions. The vampire quietly and swiftly flew up to her balcony and his feet landed with a soft tap on the railing.

"Come," he offered his hand to her, "my Angel of Music."

He gazed deeply into her eyes and Amelia found herself unable to refuse. Gingerly, she placed her hand in his grasp and he pulled her up into the air with him. Even though she had used levitation on her own self before, flying through the night with him was absolutely amazing. They glided above the trees, side by side as they held hands, as the young sorceress closed her eyes to fully take in the feeling of the wind as it gently blew past her. Alucard softly smiled at her but then turned his attention to where they were headed.

"Open your eyes," he whispered in her ear after a moment.

She did and saw the most breath-taking view ahead. The tall forest trees were beneath them as the graveyard and Spiral Hill came into view. Wisps of fog hovered among the tombstones as though the spirits of the ones departed were sleeping peacefully above their graves. The large crescent moon that glowed radiantly in the sky was overlapped by the curl of Spiral Hill, which looked like a long shadow that watched over the slumbering ghosts and their final resting places.

"It's wonderful!" the Princess of Halloween said in awe.

Slowly, they descended onto the top of the hill, still hand in hand after they had landed softly. For only a moment, which seemed to them like a peaceful eternity, they gazed up at the moon and simply enjoyed each other's presence.

"Amelia…" the vampire turned to her, "There's something that I've been wanting to tell you."

Her eyes widened a little in surprise and in interest. His free hand gently took hers and held it in his grasp while he stared deep into her eyes with compassion.

"I know that for these past few weeks, we've been _interrupted_ on many occasions." He smiled as she laughed softly at his light joke. "But still, all of the centuries that I've lived are nothing compared to the time I've spent with you."

Her cheeks tinted a light pink at his compliment and he then took a deep breath before he continued.

"You're like no other woman I've ever met. Just the sight of your eyes and your breath-taking smile makes my soul take flight." He pulled her a little closer, "My thoughts are always clouded with images of you when you're not around. And when you are, standing next to me, nothing else in the world seems to matter so long as you're there."

She was greatly shocked at what he had just said. She could hardly believe the words she heard, and she had a pretty good guess about what he was going to say next.

"Amelia…what I'm trying to tell you is…" he released one of her hands and cupped her chin, "that I love you."

At that moment, time seemed to suddenly come to a halt for the young, and very surprised, sorceress.

'He _loves_ me!?' she shouted the sentence in her head over and over several times. 'And here I figured out that my feelings for him aren't as strong anymore!' she wanted to break down and cry for she absolutely felt horrible.

'Am I really such an awful person?' she mentally asked.

True, her heart beat sped up dramatically when he made his confession, which was a sign that there was still some affection for the attractive vampire. But her mind was at a crossroads. Should she tell him the truth and risk hurting him, possibly getting hurt herself? Should she lie to put it off until later? What she wanted to do was just disappear into thin air and go someplace secluded where she could have time to think and digest what had just happened. However, she had no such luck for time then seemed to resume itself.

Alucard leaned in closer to her as he tilted her chin up while his other hand snaked around her waist. Amelia's mind was in a panic, there was no way she would be able to slip her way out of this one like she had so many times before.

Suddenly, high pitched screeches were heard from behind the couple as a swarm of bats swooped down on them that forced the two apart. The sorceress covered her face with her arms to protect herself and clenched her eyes shut while the vampire shielded them both using his cape and ducked his head. The bats then flew off into the distance, gone almost as fast as they came. He lowered his cape and glared in the direction the unwanted disturbance had come from, which was the outer tree line from the forest nearby. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion but then turned to his attention to the young girl next to him.

"Are you alright?" He asked concerned.

"Yeah…I'm fine." She lightly hugged herself, "Why don't we go ahead and head back to town? I'm tired from the day's preparations anyway. It's even more hectic than usual now that it's October." She laughed softly.

"But let's take the long way." She beamed up at him and took his hand in hers.

"Alright." He gave a curt nod and smiled back.

They descended Spiral Hill and it uncurled beneath their feet as they walked down to the cemetery below.

"Amelia," the vampire addressed her as they made their way through the tombstones, "you know how I feel toward you but…you haven't told me how you feel." His eyes were once again full of compassion and care. He wanted to show her that she could tell him anything.

"Oh, well…" she hesitated as she thought about what to say. She avoided his gaze in slight fear for her nerves had started to get the better of her. "You see…this is the only relationship I've ever been in and, we've been together for several weeks now but…I honestly think I need more time before I can give you a straight answer." Warily, she looked up at him to see his reaction.

To her surprise, he had a look of acceptance.

"I understand, I did sort of spring it up on you." He sheepishly scratched his head. "But no matter what your answer is," he then leaned in closer to her and whispered in her ear, "my feelings for you won't change."

She blushed a little at his devotion and smiled. "Thank you."

He turned his head in the direction where the bats had come from once again and glared. He was certain that something was up, but decided the girl who walked beside him was much more important than a meaningless mystery. They soon reached the gate and Alucard politely opened it for her. Then together, they started down the path back to the home where the monsters, creeps, and crawls reside.

Once they were gone from sight, a tall, slender silhouette jumped down from one of the forest trees and stared off in the direction that the couple had gone.

"That was close." The figure muttered as it stepped out from the shadows and into the pale moonlight.

It was Jack who had hidden himself in the trees and released the bats upon the unsuspecting two. A ghostly canine also flew down from the trees and hovered next to its master.

"I need to be more careful." He put his hands on his hips, "That Alucard is a lot sharper than I give him credit for." He sighed and scratched the back of his head, "I guess I really ought to stop this game and just confront Amelia about my thoughts on _that_ vampire." His eyes narrowed as he glared toward the direction they had left.

"Uh oh." His eyes widened when realization finally hit him, "We had better get going and quick!" he said to his ghostly companion. He then stood straight and whispered, "_Umbra deobscurum addo mihi domus_."

Jack's shadow which was cast on the ground from the moon's bright glow suddenly began to move and it wrapped itself around the skeleton and his loyal friend. The shadow then formed into a ball and continually grew smaller until it vanished without a trace.

Alucard walked Amelia up the steep steps to the front door of her temporary home and stopped when they reached the top of the stone staircase.

"Goodnight my princess. 'Till tomorrow when we meet again." he brought her hand close to him and right as he was about to bring it up to his lips, the door suddenly opened.

"Ah! There you are Amelia." Jack beamed down at her.

Alucard had instantly let go of her hand, much to the skeleton's unseen relief.

"I was about to go looking for you two." He crossed his arms and winked.

The teenaged sorceress laughed at his small joke. She then turned to the man who had confessed his true feelings for her.

"Goodnight Alucard." She said with a smile, gave a small bow, and walked inside when Jack had stepped out of the way. The Pumpkin King then closed the door behind them and the vampire took that as his obvious cue to leave.

Jack and Amelia went to their respective rooms without so much as a word to each other for a lot was on their minds.

The skeleton in the pinstripe suit paced around his room in the tower as he contemplated how to approach the subject of what he really thinks about Alucard to Amelia, and his thoughts about her relationship with said vampire. He held his hands behind his back and stared at the ground as he mumbled incoherently to himself. Zero watched from his basket, concerned for his master. However, his ears perked up when he heard the sound of faint footsteps from the spiral stairwell that seemed to grow louder. Jack then heard the noise as well and stood up straight as he faced the opening to the staircase.

"Jack?" the very sorceress he was trying to build up the nerve to talk to about a very touchy matter poked her head in.

She was obviously nervous when she made her way up the remaining steps and fully entered the room.

"Can I talk to you about something?"

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**What's This? What's This!? Amelia has something to say? What's This? What's This!? The author won't give it away!? **

**Lol! All the more reason to reveiw and you'll find out soon! ;)**

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	13. Amelia's Confusion

**Hello good people of ! I bring you tidings of joy for you will no longer have to suffer from the last chapter's cliffhanger! D So now on with the story...though I think many of you just skip this part anyway XD

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"Certainly Ami!" Jack smiled his signature grin, however, it was only to conceal the worry he felt. 'I know she's a clever girl.' He thought, 'Is it possible that she caught me and knows that I'm the one to blame for all of those _accidents_?' he was very nervous for he wouldn't really know how to respond if his assumption was correct.

She looked down at her feet as she walked closer to him and grasped her upper arm with the opposite hand.

"It's about…Alucard and I…" she said hesitantly once she came to a stop.

He felt as though he would have gone as white as a sheet had he any skin.

"Alright," he stated and led her over to a set of two chairs nearby. "what's on your mind?" he replied with curiosity once they had sat down, but he struggled to keep his cool so she wouldn't see through his façade of being oblivious to everything that had gone on the past several weeks.

"Well, I just feel awful because I seem to be having second thoughts about my relationship with him." She finally said, however she couldn't help but feel slightly awkward for coming to Jack about it.

What she didn't now was that he heaved a deep mental sigh of relief for not suspecting his true actions, and the fact she might not be with the vampire anymore.

"And I know that he cares for me, _deeply_." She didn't want to tell him about Alucard's confession. "Yet…I don't feel the same way. But, I don't want to break up with him! He's a vampire for one and I don't want to risk making him angry." She nervously rubbed her neck as a chill ran down her spine.

"I'm sorry for dumping this on you, Jack…" she sighed, "but you're the only one I can talk to." She looked to him with eyes that pled for advice.

"It's no problem at all!" he offered a comforting smile, "But I must confess that I've had my doubts about him from the very beginning." He crossed his arms as his expression took on a serious look.

"Really?" she was slightly surprised for he was the one who had been rather enthusiastic about her having a boyfriend in the first place.

"Yes," he gave a curt nod, "I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want to discourage you…or have you hate my guts, er…bones I guess." He chuckled a little.

She laughed as well at his small joke, but her eyes then looked down at her hands which were currently folded in her lap. He could tell she still considered not ending her relationship with Alucard so he tried to convince her otherwise.

"Well, you'd be leading him on if you stayed with him. That would be a disaster just waiting to happen you know." He pointed out.

"True…" she stared off to the side, still pondering.

"And you would have to end the relationship eventually because he will outlive you." He half-joked again.

"Yeah." She smiled a little.

"Plus, you obviously no longer have feelings for him and if he cares for you as much as you say he does, then he will understand and not try to harm you." He comforted, "Not to mention that if he dares to even _think_ about it, I'll be there to stop him the second he does!" he firmly stated.

"Yes, that's true too." Her smiled widened some.

He felt very confident that she was going to end it with the vampire that he really disliked, much to his inner happiness.

"I suppose I should then," she sighed, "but I think I'm going to wait just a little while longer. This _is_ the first relationship I've ever been in."

Jack nearly choked at her words.

"Your first one!?" he said in disbelief, "You've never been with someone from your own world even?"

"No." she gloomily shook her head, "Back home, I'm the weird girl and no guy would ever take interest in someone like me." Her head sunk lower in depression.

"That's preposterous!" The tone of his voice had grown a little louder, "Why any human boy would be lucky to be with you…so long as I was ok with him." He winked at her, making a joke again.

She laughed and smiled as a small blush crept across her cheeks from his compliment. However, neither of them could help the extremely awkward silence that followed. The sorceress fiddled with the edges of her sleeves before she finally cleared her throat to break the uncomfortable stillness.

"It's late so I'm going to turn in." she stood up from the chair, "Thanks so much for listening and for your advice." She smiled in gratitude, "Goodnight Jack." She turned and made her way to the stairs.

"Goodnight Ami." He said warmly as she descended the spiral staircase.

Once her footsteps had faded into silence he let out a held breath, that he didn't even know he was holding, and put his hand on his forehead.

"I'm glad she won't be with _that_ vampire anymore but…" he looked to the side, "I'm still concerned about the fact that she's waiting." He admitted aloud, more or less to himself than to his ghostly companion who currently dozed in his little basket nearby.

"I hope that she won't put it off for long." He crossed his arms and looked down at the ground in thought.

Amelia sluggishly walked into her room and quietly closed the door behind her. She went over to her large window and stared up at the moon. Her face expressed the inner turmoil that she was going through as she pondered over what to do about it. Her hand rested upon the cool, clear glass as she gazed. She wasn't sure, but she thought she heard the distinct sound of a few of the citizens of Halloween Town singing below on the street in front of the house.

_Something's happening._

_Something's happening. _

_Don't know why Ami is pondering. _

_She's all alone up there,_

_Locked away inside._

_Trying to understand,_

_Hope she doesn't cry._

_Something's happening._

_Something's happening!_

She was sure that the only way she would ever solve her problems would be to sing what her heart truly felt.

_Is Alucard really my true one?_

_Will I ever know, I cannot tell._

_There are so many questions I cannot ask._

_When I try to, I turn my back,_

_For my voice does not last._

_Like a pulse that's fading fast._

_Something here I'm not quite seeing._

_Though I try, I keep missing, _

_Like a happiness long since past._

_Here in a minute gone in a second!_

_What does it mean?_

_What does it mean?_

_My heart is telling me no._

_I have to say, can it be so?_

_His poems and songs confuse me so._

_Confound it all I love it though!_

_Simple feelings nothing more._

_My heart remains behind a door,_

_Though he does not have the key._

_Something's here, I cannot breathe!_

_What does it mean?_

_What does it mean!?_

_What does it mean?_

She walked over to the nightstand where the rose he gave her, when he had asked her to be with him, was in its crystal vase and not at all withered because the magic he had used on it.

"Hmm…" she then picked up a book that was set next to the flower.

_I've read these romance novels so many times._

_I know the Shakespeare and I know the lines._

_I know the sonnets all from end to start._

_My head's so full it's tearing me apart!_

She placed it back on the nightstand and began to pace around her room.

_So often I have heard him sing the song._

_Was it really him pulling me along?_

_If so then why am I trying to prolong?_

_Or perhaps he really wasn't that deep,_

_As I was lead to see._

_Were my thoughts wrong all along?_

_Of course! I've been to close to see!_

_The answer's right in front of me,_

_Right in front of me!_

_It's simple really, very clear._

_His hand gently touching my hair,_

_But I no longer seem to care._

_I just could not see it before!_

_My heart isn't his anymore!_

_You know I think this romantic thing,_

_Is not as obvious as we all think._

_I'm sure that he is not the one._

_Alucard and I are now done!_

_Now everyone, in fact, can see,_

_That we were never meant to be._

_And there's no reason I can find,_

_I couldn't handle telling him tonight! _

She dashed over to her window and gazed back up at the pale moon in the dark night sky.

_I have to tell him what is true_

_And that's exactly what I'll do!_

_Yes! At long last, I've got it! _

She let out a deep sigh of relief, she was finally certain of what she had to do, and the sooner the better.

"Alright, I had better tell him now before I lose the courage." She then determinedly opened the sliding glass door and walked out onto the balcony.

She was just about to jump onto the railing to leave when a thick mist suddenly rolled in. A familiar feeling of light-headedness overcame her and her eyes became half lidded. Her thoughts of going to see Alucard pretty much vanished, but she shook her head and the bizarre sensation left her.

"Uhh…" she groaned as she placed her hand on her forehead and leaned against the side of the house. Then, a feeling of nervousness overwhelmed her.

"I…I guess I shouldn't tell him tonight…it's late anyway. But I will! Eventually…" she shook her head once more before she returned to her room.

Once she had closed the thick crimson drapes, a dark figure materialized on a branch in a tree nearby that faced her balcony.

"Hmm…it seems she's becoming much harder to control. It must be because her sixteenth year is nearing," the masculine voice spoke, a hint of malice laced in his tone, "and that Armonia blood that courses through her veins is not helping either."

"No matter," his eyes narrowed as a smirk spread across his features, "she won't be ending our so-called _relationship_ anytime soon."

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**Ho, ho, ho! Alucard seems to be up to something! What does it mean?? Hmmm...review and the next chapter will be here sooner than you think ;-)**

**Oh and I would like to thank my good friend Kim for making the parody of Jack's Obession, turning it into Amelia's Confusion! Thank you so much!! **


	14. October 21st part 1

**Important: Alright readers! Here is chapter 14 but, it's a two-parter. The original chapter turned out to be more than twice as long as my normal chapters are and I didn't want to have to make you guys read that much lol! So I apologize if this chapter seems a little boring but that's because it's half of the real chapter 14. Also, I plan to post the second part around Wednesday so be on the lookout for a fast update! **

**Anyway, that's the end of my little author's note so on with part 1! **

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A few weeks had passed and it was now the dawn of the twenty-first of October, ten days before Halloween. On that particular morning, Amelia finally had a quiet, sound sleep the night before. But when she would awake, the peace would be shattered from something she never expected.

"Amelia," Jack whispered to her sleeping form, "wake up."

"Nnn…" She moaned a little in protest but reluctantly, she blinked her eyes open. They widened in surprise as she found the Pumpkin King's face merely inches away from hers. A bright red blush spread across her face.

"Wah!" she shrieked in surprise and suddenly found herself falling. Thankfully, she landed safely on her bed that was just a few feet directly under her. "Wha? What!? Wait what!? What just happened!?" she looked up to the tall skeleton man confused, still a little flushed, and hoped that he would provide some answers.

As always, Jack smiled his signature grin from would-be ear to would-be ear.

"Happy sixteenth birthday Ami!" she shouted enthusiastically. "And judging by the fact you were floating above your bed in your sleep, your full powers have arrived!"

"Oh is that all?" she was still in shock. Suddenly, a thought struck her.

"Wait…how did you know today was my birthday?" she quirked an eyebrow in suspicion.

"I uh," Jack had momentarily forgotten that she didn't know he had followed her the night she sang on Spiral Hill and overheard her state when her birthday was. "Well," he cleared his throat as he avoided eye contact. "Santa Claus!" he suddenly shouted.

"Huh?" she looked at him dumbfounded.

"Yes, yes! You see, a while back before you came to Halloween Town this summer, I realized I didn't know when your birthday was! And since I didn't know if you were the type who hated their birthday or not, I just asked good ol' Sandy!" he beamed.

She rolled her eyes.

"You know, you could've just asked me. I'm not that type of person." She then absentmindedly glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"It's a quarter till ten! Why did you let me sleep in this long!?" she threw her covers off as she sat up and started to get out of bed, but a bony hand on her shoulder prevented her from doing so.

"Ah, ah." He shook his index finger disapprovingly. "You can stay in bed as long as you like. It's your birthday!" he smiled and removed his hand, "What better present could you give to yourself than a relaxing day off?"

"But the Mayor will have a panic attack if I'm not around to double check things." She protested.

"Double checking for the _hundredth_ time you mean?" he arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Well…I just want to make sure everything is going to go well for the big celebration. It's only ten days until Halloween you know!" she pointed out.

"I know you've been around the Mayor _much_ too long." he chuckled, "Don't you worry. I'm going to take care of everything today. You can trust me." He beamed as he placed his skeletal hand over his would-be heart. "I _am_ the Pumpkin King and I have been doing this for _far_ longer than you've been alive."

"But—"

"Ah."

"But!"

"Ah."

"But I!"

"No Amelia." He spoke with a certain sternness which could only belong to that of a true ruler. "Today is your day, and you need a break."

Of course, everyone in Halloween Town knew that when Jack spoke with that tone of voice, his word is final.

He walked over to her door to exit but turned to face her once more, "And don't you worry about the Mayor, or anyone else for that matter. I'll handle everything and you just enjoy your most well-deserved day off." With another one of his signature grins, he then exited the room to leave the young sorceress in peace.

"Well," she finally said after she had stared blankly at the doorway for a few moments, "Sleeping in past eleven won't kill me." She giggled and got back underneath her covers for another relaxing slumber.

When the birthday girl finally did get out of bed, she found that she didn't have much to do while she was alone in Jack's house. Since she didn't plan on going outside for a while, she wore her normal human clothes which consisted of blue jeans, average run-of-the-mill tennis shoes, her hair done up in its normal ponytail, and a black t-shirt with a smiling jack-o-lantern on the front.

The first thing that came to mind to cure her boredom was to play the piano in the practice room down the hall. She hadn't set foot inside after she had sang the unintentional duet with Jack. So since she was eager to sit down and practice, she walked to the room at a brisk pace, but with a skip in her step from happiness. As she opened the door and stepped in, she realized something she had never noticed before.

"No way…" She breathed in surprise when her gaze fell upon her reflection in the wall of mirrors. "This is…This is where that crazy dream took place! I can't believe I didn't recognize it until now!"

She looked up and there was the exact same chandelier as pictured in her bizarre dream. The only thing that was different between the two places was the black-painted piano nearby.

"I dreamt of a place that actually _exists_? That's never happened before…" she said as she walked over to her favorite instrument and glided her hand along its precisely carved edge.

"Oh God I hope I'm not psychic!" she blushed furiously but then shook her head to banish the unwanted thought. "I'll just practice now…get my mind off of things."

She sat down on the wooden bench and lifted the cover on the piano. Lightly, she placed her hands upon the keys and gracefully began to play a slow, dream-like song. It had no words, only beautiful notes, lovely chords, and a gorgeous rhythm. As the song began to come to a close, her movements were slow, light, and on the last note she gently struck, its sound softly faded into a serene silence. A small smile graced her lips as she placed the key cover back down and stood up from her seat.

Whimpers and whines where heard from a spectral mist that appeared out from the piano. It was the little ghost dog with the bright, jack-o-lantern nose with a happy smile upon its face.

"Zero!" She grinned in delight, "Did you like the song?"

The transparent canine nodded his head and barked joyously. He then flew back and forth over the front of the musical instrument and looked up to the young sorceress.

"Oh, you want me to play again?" she asked.

Zero bobbed his head up and down excitedly and then floated over to the top of the piano to watch.

"Alright." Amelia giggled in amusement.

She sat back down and lifted the key cover. Her hands hovered slightly over it as a look of slight puzzlement overcame her features.

"Hmm…What to play…" she then grasped her chin in thought, "Oh! I know you'll like this one!" she placed her hands in the correct position over the keys and began to play, and sing, a very familiar tune.

_Boys and girls of every age,_

_Wouldn't you like to see something strange?_

_Come with us and you will see,_

_This our town of Halloween. _

_This is Halloween! This is Halloween! _

_Pumpkins scream in the dead of night!_

_This is Halloween! Everybody make a scene._

_Trick or treat 'till the neighbor's gonna die of fright! _

_It's our town, everybody scream! _

_In this town of Halloween…_

She continued to sing as her fingers danced across the keys, playing out the theme song of the famous holiday in which they lived in. Her ghostly companion watched with a grin of enjoyment and tilted his head from side to side in time with the beat. For the rest of that morning, Amelia played and sang many familiar tunes and was continually encouraged and motivated by her ever-loyal friend. Zero was sad when she stopped, but her fingers had started to cramp and that was a clear sign that she needed to take a break. Once her hands had recovered, she spent the most part of the afternoon drawing the spectral canine, much to his delight. She completed several pencil sketches of him, including one of when he had fallen asleep in his basket with a candy-cane under his chin. Why the Halloween Town dog had something Christmas related, she wasn't sure but she was fairly certain it had all to do with Jack and his strange fetish with the winter holiday. Because the young ruler wanted to enjoy the most out of her day-off, she chose to be lazy the last of the afternoon and into the evening with the pleasure of a rare, long, peaceful nap. When she awoke, the Pumpkin King had returned from the day's errands but was hardly tired at all, quite the opposite of what poor Amelia felt when she came back from her hectic, every-day schedule.

"How did everything go today?" she asked Jack when he walked into the living room.

"Everything went…" he paused, put his hands on his hips, and eyed his heir to the throne, "You're not wearing your normal sorceress get-up."

"Well," she scratched her head, "I hadn't planned on going outside today so I thought I'd wear some of my normal clothes."

"Ah, I see. Well to answer your question, everything went splendid! Exactly as it should and I'm certain we'll have no troubles at all this Halloween." He proudly reported.

"That's great news!" she beamed in joy, and relief.

"By the way," he held his hands behind his back and walked just barely past her, "I ran into Alucard today."

The princess's eyes went wide as she gulped in slight fear.

"It seems as though you two are still an item, is that true?" he asked as though it was a perfectly normal question.

"Erm…yes." She poked her index fingers together for she had hoped she would've been able to avoid this confrontation.

"Amelia, over a month has passed since you decided you would end things with him." He turned to her with a stern expression and crossed his arms, "You know that's not good at all."

"Yes." She lowered her head a little as she stared down at her feet, ashamed. "I made a promise to you and I intend to keep it." She then looked up to him with a certain seriousness that even took him slightly by surprise, "You have my word."

He closed his eyes and smirked, proud of what she had said and how she addressed the matter.

"Good." He opened his eyes as he continued to smile down at her. "I know I can trust you." He ruffled her dark blonde hair to break the stern atmosphere.

"Hey." She giggled and playfully batted his hand away as a grin of her own spread across her face.

* * *

**Uh oh, Amelia is stalling! But she just swore that she wouldn't break her promise. What will happen now? Why can't the second part be here already!? Well don't worry! I guarantee that it will be here sooner than you think! As long as I get reviews lol! Don't worry, either way it'll be here in a few days! Keep a look out! :D **


	15. October 21st part 2

**Finally! The long awaited part two is here!! (thuderous applause is heard) Thank you, thank you. You're too kind. Lol! Enough from me, here's the rest of chapter 14!

* * *

**

It was late in the evening when the temperature dropped from mildly warm to very chilly. If there was one thing Amelia hated about fall was the fact that winter was just a short season away. She didn't like the cold at all and toward the middle of autumn, she always had a warm blanket around her shoulders. That's exactly what she did as she sat on the ground in front of the brilliant, hot flames of the fireplace in Jack's tower.

But it wasn't just the cool weather that aggravated her nerves, the thought of Halloween only ten days away and everyone's attention being on her. Well, needless to say she had a bit of stage fright. This, in itself, was odd because she was, after all, the heir to the scariest person of all Halloween Town. Even though today was her day off, being in charge of the greatest celebration to all the citizens had put a lot of stress on her to do a good job and live up to their expectations.

She heaved a deep sigh as she wished she could get her mind off of things.

"I hate the cold." She glowered at the fire and shivered a little.

"Would hot chocolate make you warmer?" Jack beamed as he sat down next to her and offered her a cup of the mentioned sweet beverage.

"Yeah! Thanks." She eagerly accepted the steaming drink. "There are even little marshmallows!" she smiled.

"Well of course! What's hot chocolate without marshmallows?" he arched a would-be eyebrow.

She chuckled lightly and took a sip, but the quickly moved the cup away.

"Ouch!" she waved her hand frantically to try and cool her burnt tongue.

The Pumpkin King laughed at the comical sight, but then was on the receiving end of a heated glare from the accident-prone sorceress. Once he had calmed and Amelia pretended to ignore him, they both simply gazed absentmindedly at the fire as the wood crackled and snapped from the flames.

"Jack?" the teenaged ruler broke the silence after a few minutes of quiet had passed.

"Hm?" he turned his head toward her.

"Would you mind if I asked you a question?" Curiosity shined in her eyes. "It's kind of personal though, so I understand if you don't want to answer."

One of his eye sockets elongated which implied that he raised an eyebrow.

"Sure." He said, though a little confused.

"What was your life like when you were human?" she asked a little fast due to nervousness and the slight awkward feeling that had overcome her.

To her surprise, he laughed.

"Oh well now, let's see." He grasped his chin in thought and narrowed his eyes as though he was trying to recall his past. "My memory escapes me at the moment." He joked.

"Oh _ha_," she said sarcastically, "quit acting."

"Alright." He chuckled and went into the tale of his "living" life.

--

_Jack grew up as the only son of a wealthy, high-class, nineteenth century family in England. But being an aristocrat wasn't all it was cracked up to be. He hated all the rules and restrictions he had to follow during his childhood and his teenaged years. However, he tried very hard to be a model son for the sake of his parents, and he was rewarded one Christmas for doing so. He got his very own dog that winter morning, who he named Zero. His neighbor, which was another rich family, had a snooty daughter that absolutely despised his new best friend because she absolutely couldn't stand dogs. As it turned out, she was the owner of a pure-bred white cat and automatically assumed that Zero would chase her beloved feline, Ms. Snow. _

_When he was a young man and ready to set off into the world, he went to America to attend a university in New England. He followed in his father's footsteps of being a very smart business man and quickly rose to the high class in the American society. He was, after all, a natural born leader. But one of the many things he really enjoyed was the celebration of Halloween. It wasn't really celebrated where he had grown up and immediately fell in love with the holiday as soon as he had heard about it. Every year after that, the Skellington Company always sponsored and funded many of the Halloween celebrations in several towns, and eventually became so successful that it began to support all major public holiday festivities. Jack was the head of the committee that organized all of the events and he planned and organized most of them. _

_Unfortunately, he never married thus never had someone to take over the company once he had to retire. So he handed it to one of his trusted employees when the time came and the company name was changed, thus ended the Skellington reign over the holidays. Jack died of a tragic case of pneumonia shortly after retiring. Although he had hired some of the best doctors around to treat his illness, they couldn't stop it from taking his life. _

_--_

"And that's when I ended up here. Although I do miss my human life, I wouldn't give up Halloween Town for anything." He beamed.

"Wow." Amelia really hadn't expected such a story from him. But another question nagged at the back of her mind.

"Um, I know you never married and, not to be extremely nosy or anything but…" She averted her gaze slightly. "Did you have any girlfriends growing up?"

"Er…" he became a little flustered at her question. He too avoided eye contact and looked at the fireplace, but he could understand her for she truly didn't know that much about him and she was just simply curious.

"Actually no, I didn't have any per say…but there was one girl." He gave a half-smile, "who was as close to one as I ever had. Before she met her untimely death, that is."

--

_When he was sixteen, three years after he had gotten Zero, a new family moved into town. It was a middle-aged father, Marcus, who had been unemployed for a while. A mother named Rosemary, who was a seamstress, and their sixteen-year-old daughter, Elizabeth. They were in poverty and had been looking for a place to call home for some time. Mr. Skellington, Jack's father, let them rent the small guest house he had that wasn't in use so long as Marcus came to work at his company. Since he hadn't been offered a job in several months, the father of the small family eagerly accepted. The newcomers were greatly overjoyed and felt that they were forever in the Skellington's debt. _

_When Jack met Elizabeth he fell immediately head over heals. _

"I don't remember quite what she looked like, but I do remember her stunning blue eyes and her bright, warm smile." he seemed to be a little lost in her memory for a moment before he continued.

_Although she came from a poor family, she was considered one of the most beautiful young ladies in the neighborhood, much to the jealousy of many of the rich, snobby women. She had a kind heart and always thought of others, especially her family, before herself. Though they were neighbors, Jack always had the hardest time trying to manage to speak a comprehensible sentence around her. But she always thought he was simply being funny, much to her amusement of course. _

_It was November when Rosemary became stricken with an incurable illness. So being the good daughter she was Elizabeth took on the responsibilities of taking care of the house and her mother. As a result, Jack never got to see much of her unless she had knocked on their door to ask for blankets to borrow or medicine that would possibly ease Rosemary's pain. Both Mr. and Mrs. Skellington were more than happy to help for the two families had become good friends. As a token of the wealthy family's appreciation to Marcus's work as a loyal employee, they hired a special doctor to aid his sick wife and give Elizabeth a chance to attend a big social event that was coming up, the annual Christmas Ball. She thanked them for their generosity but wanted to stay at her mother's side. But Rosemary, although weakly, encouraged her to go to the dance for she had made a dress for her that she had hoped she would one day be able to wear for such a special occasion. Elizabeth decided to go for she wanted to respect her mother's possibly last wish. _

_Thrilled at the fact that she would be attending the ball, Jack tried continuously to build up the courage to ask to be her escort. But then, tragedy befell the small family. One night mid-December, Rosemary had passed on in her sleep, the illness finally won over her worn and frail body. The Skellingtons's paid the entire cost of the funeral for they felt it was the least they could do for their friends. The beloved mother was buried in a local cemetery near a willow tree. _

_A few days after, in hopes of cheering the depressed Elizabeth up, Jack finally felt confident enough to ask her to the Christmas Ball which was to be held that night. He got up bright and early for he knew she was always out and about at that time doing chores and anything she could do to help her father in their time of grief. When he knocked on the door to their home, no one answered. He tried again and waited a few minutes but again no one came. He went back inside his family's estate and was surprised to find Marcus, trying to hold back tears, at their front door as he tried to tell Mr. Skellington something that apparently awful had happened. _

_Elizabeth was found dead that morning on her mother's grave. _

_Marcus assumed she had snuck out in the middle of the night to pay her respects to their recent dearly departed and never returned. When he had realized she was missing, he had gone out to look for her, only to find his daughter's cold, lifeless body beside his wife's grave marker. _

_It was the morning of Christmas Eve. _

_Snow silently fell onto the cold ground at Elizabeth's funeral where she was buried beside her mother. It was believed she died of the same illness that had befallen Rosemary, although she didn't have any of the symptoms. Mr. Skellington promised to help Marcus in any way that he could for the poor man was so shook up from having lost his entire world in such a short amount of time. But the poor father was just too deep in grief to probably even comprehend anything at that moment. _

_Jack was in despair as well for he never got to tell her how he really felt for her. Even though for the past few weeks she was alive he had tried. He greatly wished that there was something, anything, he could do to bring her and her mother back. But no matter how much he willed it, it never came true. _

_--_

"Jack…I-I had no idea! Y-you didn't have to tell me if you didn't want to." Amelia felt horrible for the skeleton man next to her and regretted ever asking him about his past in the first place.

"No, no. I wanted to and you deserve to know a little more about me and my previous life." He smiled, "Besides, I know that Elizabeth wouldn't have wanted me to dwell on the past. So even though it took quite some time, I eventually managed to let go and move on." He then continued with the rest of his life's story.

--

_He visited Elizabeth's grave as often as he could, especially on Christmas Eve. Her father eventually re-married, to Rosemary's sister, who had come to his aid as they both grieved over their family losses. They had a few children together, but Jack didn't really care too much for the new couple and their kids living in the guest house. But he was of course polite and neighborly to them, especially since Marcus had developed a liking to him. _

_When he moved to America and rose to high society, he didn't bother too much with socializing with his fellow aristocrats, but instead devoted his extra time and money to aiding the poor people of the town he had moved to, in honor of Elizabeth's memory for he knew that's what she would've done. He even gave his entire fortune to the poor people of the community as written in his will for when he passed on._

_While he was still alive, Jack did go back to England every so many years to visit his mother and father, and of course Elizabeth's remaining family. Marcus was always happy to see Jack for he was one of the few people left who really knew his beloved daughter and wife. Jack was happy to see they had a brighter future ahead of them that hopefully wouldn't be stricken with tragic losses. _

_--_

"So you never met another girl that you developed feelings for?" Amelia asked out of the blue.

"I didn't really meet a special someone after Elizabeth." He explained, "It wasn't that I didn't let her go, it was just that none ever caught my attention like she did, or even remotely close for that matter." He then smirked and crossed his arms. "Though I was quite the catch according to the women of the town I lived in here in America."

She just looked at him in disbelief with an expression that flat out said, _'You're kidding right?'_

"Honestly, I was quite the handsome bachelor back in the day." He grinned as he boasted about himself.

"_Right_." She said sarcastically and rolled her eyes at him.

She looked at her now half-empty cup of hot chocolate which she had sipped during his spoken autobiography, and had made extra sure not to burn herself like before. After a minute or so of serene silence had passed, she decided to speak up once more.

"I'm sorry that I don't have a bittersweet story to tell." She gave a small, sad half-smile.

"Oh but you do." Jack grinned, "Once there was a little girl who had unknowingly wandered into a city full of her worst nightmares that had come to life! And she somehow managed to befriend the scariest of them all, the horrible Pumpkin King!"

Amelia laughed and it was followed by yet another brief, quiet moment.

"Actually, I do have a rather sad story to tell," She set down her mug of cocoa then dug into her pocket, "though it's not a tragedy."

She brought out a small gold, heart-shaped locket that had been a little tarnished from its age.

"When I was little and just beginning school, I didn't have any friends and no one really wanted to be my friend." She began, "But there was this one boy who was my age that somehow knew I was a good person. He actually took the chance to get to know me and didn't judge me like all the others had. His name was Eric, my first _real_ friend." A soft smile graced her lips as she seemed enveloped in the memory.

"We grew up together and went through good times and bad like all friendships do. But as time went on, my feelings for him began to change. For me, I thought we could be more than just friends. Even though I was only in fifth grade, I was certain I had fallen in love with him." She clutched the locket close to her heart. "But it wasn't until three years later did I actually have enough courage to tell him. When I went over to were he lived, there was a for sale sign with a 'Sold' sticker across it in the front yard of his home. Eric had moved to a far away town and I would probably never see him again."

She held the locket in front of her and opened it to reveal a picture of a very young teenage boy inside. He had light brunette colored hair with dark brown eyes. He didn't really have a handsome face, but when it came to true love, that didn't matter much now did it?

"I ran home in tears. I cried my eyes out until they were dried up, and even then I still sobbed. Later, I found a picture of him that he had given me on picture day at school a while back and I put it in this locket." She stared at his picture with sad eyes that obviously longed for the young man. "On that day, I swore I would never so much as have an interest in any other guy until I could see him again and find out if we were truly meant for each other or not." She closed the locket and stared at the ground ashamed.

"I don't really know why I decided to be with Alucard when I still had yet to fulfill my promise. It's just that he reminded me so much of Eric somehow. Yet they don't even look remotely the same nor have similar personalities. But whatever it was, it was strong enough for me to say yes." A tear rolled down the side of her face and her watery eyes glistened in the glow from the fire. "I guess I wanted Eric to come back so badly that my mind tricked me into relating Alucard to him so I could fill that gap in my heart." More salty drops of water slid down her cheeks.

"I feel like such an idiot." She stated not just for the fact that she was crying, but also because he had told her one of the most tragic tales she had ever heard and he didn't even weep once.

Suddenly she felt a cool, bony finger wipe away her tears.

"Don't cry Amelia." Jack said caringly, "The mind can play tricks on you if you really believe in something strong enough. You have nothing to be ashamed of." He offered a comforting smile.

"Thank you." She sniffed and her lips curved slightly upward into a smile of her own.

She didn't know what possessed her to do so but she suddenly found herself throwing her arms around him and hugged him tightly as though he would disappear if she let go. Jack returned the warm embrace, holding her protectively. He rested his head on top of hers as he comforted her. Even though he had gone through so much more grief and depression than she could ever imagine, he couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. He understood the pain of unrequited love, and no matter what shape or form it was in, it still hurt the same.

"And by no means are you an idiot." He stroked her hair, trying to soothe her, "Don't you ever let someone else, or even yourself, convince you otherwise." He said calmly.

She nodded with her head against his shoulder and tried to stop the tears that continued to fall. They stayed like that for a while, neither one of them wanted to let go. She felt safe in his arms and he felt that he could protect her from anything that would ever cause her pain or misery. After several minutes had passed and her crying had ceased, Jack released his grip around her, albeit a little reluctantly.

"I know exactly what will make you feel better." He beamed at her, grasped her hand and pulled her up until they were both standing. He released his hold on her then waved his hand. A box appeared in his grasp, wrapped in orange and black Halloween paper with a black bow.

"For me?" she asked, a little surprised.

"Happy Birthday Amelia." He smiled his signature grin and handed the present to her.

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she gratefully accepted the present. She looked at him questioningly, silently asking permission to open it. He gave a curt nod and she delicately began to unwrap it. Once she got the paper off, what she held in her hands was a beautifully carved wooden, black box.

"Do you remember when Doctor Finklestein was over and we were going over some plans that I didn't want to show you?" Jack suddenly asked.

"Yeah." She nodded. She had always wondered what they were really up to that day.

"Well, he was actually helping me improve the designs for that special box since he was going to make it for me." He stated. "Go ahead and look inside."

Curiously, she opened it and soft music was heard from within it. She easily recognized the tune of _This is Halloween_. Inside the box was a small, black rose with a green stem and thorns that slowly turned around in a circle in front of the mirror in the lid as the song played.

"It's amazing!" she smiled in awe.

"There's more," he moved to stand beside her then pointed to the moving piece, "press down on the rose."

She gently pushed on the beautiful flower and the stem slowly sank into the box. The small mirror split in two down the middle and moved apart. A secret compartment was revealed behind the reflective glass and in it was the most stunning pendant she had ever seen. It was a blue gem in the shape of a teardrop like the one on her circlet crown. The stone had silver wire elegantly crafted to cross over the gem and form a spiral at the top, all together on a silver chain.

Amelia gasped in amazement. "I-it's beautiful!" She picked up the breathtaking piece of jewelry and carefully held it in her hand. She stared at the gem that was the same color as her eyes, absolutely mesmerized.

"Here," he gently took it out of her grasp, "let me."

He placed the silver necklace around her neck as she held her hair out of the way so he could clasp the ends together. Her cheeks were splashed with a tint of pink as she felt his fingers lightly brush against her skin. She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination or if it really happened, but she thought that his hands lingered on her shoulders just a split second longer than they should have. But he moved away before she could really think about it. She let her ponytail fall back into place and touched the gorgeous pendant lightly with her fingertips. She turned to face him, a light blush still painted across her cheeks.

"Thank you Jack." She smiled warmly up at him.

"You're very welcome Ami." He beamed and suddenly the clock in his room began to chime. "Huh, ten o'clock already?" he yawned, "I guess it's time to turn in then."

"I'm not sleepy," Amelia stated, "I slept like twelve hours today!"

"Well I haven't and sleep sounds good right now." He placed his hand on the small of her back and started to guide her toward the staircase that led downward.

"Oh, alright." She crossed her arms and reluctantly began her descent. But she gave one last glance back.

"Goodnight Jack. Thanks so much for such a wonderful birthday." She beamed happily.

"Goodnight Amelia, and it's the least I could do." He returned her smile with one of his own. He watched her go down the spiral stairs until she entirely disappeared and her footsteps faded into silence.

With a sigh, he plopped himself down on his bed and held his chin in the palm of his hand as he pondered over something.

"So young yet she's already been through the heartbreak from someone she loved. She is definitely not anymore the little girl I once knew." He let out another deep sigh and stared at his reflection in one of the windows. "She's growing up to be quite the young woman."

A slightly awkward feeling overcame him as he spoke those words. To get his mind off of things, he put out the remaining fire in the fireplace, changed into his night clothes, turned out the rest of the lights, and went to bed.

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**(A/N): I hope Jack's past sounded believable enough. I kind of just put it together within a few hours and I know it's not grand but I hope it's good. **

**How sad, two tales of unrequited love, though one more tragic than the other. After this interesting twist, what on earth is going to happen next!? Reviews make me type faster! Thanks! **


	16. The Mirror Ghost Revealed!

**Ok, I know for most of you, you'll be reading this on Thursday and I said I would post on Wednesday...which technically I did! Heh heh...please accept my apologies, my homework load has been hectic lately and I feel like Amelia after a busy day with trying to get the Halloween celebration in order. **

**But I would like to thank all of you that reviewed! They were all so wonderful and I'm very pleased to hear that you all liked Jack's past! :D Here is your reward! **

**One last note, after this I will get back onto my regular schedule of updating every Saturday, but I will skip this coming one to get back on task and give me some more time with the next chapter. Ok, enough of my babbling, on with the chapter! **

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Amelia awoke in the early hours of the morning, though it wasn't due to a strange vision or a reoccurring dream. Instead, it was a question that had been stuck in the back of her mind for some time now that begged to be answered. Just who is the strange ghostly woman, who looks like her double?

'Is she the Armonia that came before me?' was the second thought that came into her head.

Unable to sleep as determination began to course through her veins, she sat up in bed, retrieved her spell book off of her nightstand, and turned on the small lamp so she could read. She scanned the contents of each page carefully, looking for anything that could possibly trace her ancestry. Hours passed as she flipped through the pages of her jewel encrusted book, but unfortunately, to no avail.

"Dang it!" she shouted in frustration and threw her spell book down beside her. She crossed her arms and scowled angrily at it. "You know, for a race of sorcerers that's been around for _thousands_ of years and said to be the most _powerful_, you think at least _one_ of them would have been smart enough to create a spell that could trace their bloodline through the generations!"

Suddenly, a gust of wind rushed into her room like a small whirlwind that blew every loose item there was. As well as her hair that whipped across her face, which caused her temporary blindness. Because she was too busy trying to move her light brown locks out of her eyes, she didn't notice that the blast of air had no origin. Both the door and the window was closed shut. Nor did she see that the full length mirror in the corner of her room was hazy with an eerie fog in its reflection.

Just as quick as the wind had came, it was gone. She huffed to blow her long hair out of the way and moved it away from her face with her hand.

"What the heck was that?" she asked in annoyance to no one in particular.

She then happened to glance down at the spell book beside her, which had been blown open from the strong gust. Curiously, she carefully lifted it and read over the page. She gasped in shock for what the title of the chapter read.

ORIGINS AND FAMILY TREE OF THE ARMONIA SORCERERS

She immediately turned the page and found an incredibly long list of names with birth and death dates next to their picture. With her index finger, she scanned the contents and found the last known Armonia.

_**Elizabeth Brave.**__ B. 1837 D. 1853 _

Her eyes went wide in astonishment, and slightly in fear as she gazed at the image next to the name. She had finally found the ghost in her heirloom hand mirror. It was the very same young woman who appeared in her dreams and had her very same face.

"Elizabeth…_Brave_!?" Amelia breathed in shock.

She gently touched the picture of her relative with her fingertips. Suddenly, a bright light shot out of the book. She quickly had to turn her head away from the intense beam and used her arm to shield her eyes. After a moment or so, the white light faded away, so she cautiously looked back down at the page. There beneath Elizabeth's picture, was Amelia's own with her name printed next to it in ink as well as the year she was born.

_**Amelia Brave.**__ B. 1991 D. -- _

Her hands trembled and she dropped the book. She let it fall haphazardly onto her bed as she stared blankly out her window. Her pupils had shrunk to microscopic dots just like she did in fear when she was nine years old.

"Jack!" she shouted and quickly dashed out of her bed after she had grabbed her spell book again. "Jack!"

Thankfully, it was that time of the morning when he would normally wake up, which was about 8 o'clock. Amelia had always known him to be an early bird ever since she came to Halloween Town.

"Jack!" she yelled again as she raced up the spiral staircase. She sprinted into the tower and skidded to a halt a few feet from where the tall skeleton sat on his bed, in his nighttime attire, obviously had just woken up.

"What is it Ami?" he yawned and rubbed his eye tiredly.

"I found…the last…Armonia…before…me." She panted from exhaustion. However, she still had enough energy to open her book to the page with her family tree and handed it to him.

He took it and stood up slowly before looking down at her discovery. His eyes snapped open wide, fully awake, as he gasped in surprise and starred at the image for a few moments before he turned toward the sorceress, who had finally caught her breath.

"You're not trying to pull a joke on me are you?" he asked with a serious tone.

"What? No! Why would I lie about something like this!?" she walked over to him and pointed at the picture. "That's the girl I saw in my dream. That's the ghost who appeared in my family's mirror."

"And that's also the girl I lost nearly a century and a half ago." He stated as he stared back down at the image. A hint of sadness had laced his voice, but the young ruler was too shocked to even notice.

"Wha? A-are you serious?" that particular morning was turning out to be quite the startling one for the princess of Halloween.

"Yes," he glanced at the teenager, "but Elizabeth was an Armonia? I didn't even know she was a sorceress!" He said in astonishment. "Of course, I didn't even know that a mystical world lived alongside ours at the time."

He stared at the picture once again of the precious girl who died so long ago and lightly traced his index finger along the outline of her face. His expression turned into that of bewilderment.

"I can't believe I didn't see it before" he looked back up to the descendent that stood before him "…you're her spitting image."

Amelia blushed a little and she avoided eye contact with the tall, skeleton man. So, she simply stared down at her bare feet as though they were the most interesting things in the world. After a brief moment of silence, Jack felt that he had better say something to lift the uncomfortable atmosphere that had settled.

"Well, I didn't mean to make the moment awkward," he smiled and scratched the back of his head as he chuckled nervously. "But it's great that you finally know who she is now."

"Yeah, that's one question answered." She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, "Now just twenty more to go."

He laughed lightly, but then he realized something.

"Wait a minute." His serious tone returned. "Tell me again about that dream you had of her in the graveyard."

"Oh, well she was in mourning at a new looking tombstone, and she whispered the word _mother_." She gasped, taken aback as soon as the words had left her mouth, and also slightly in fear. "She didn't die of the illness! She died from being bitten by that vampire!"

"Exactly. That explains why she had a closed casket funeral, which was very odd back in the day." He remembered, "It was done so that no one would be able see the bite marks on her neck!"

"Well if she was proof that vampires existed, then why didn't anyone try to hunt down the guy?" she questioned.

"I'm assuming that Marcus would have kept quiet about it." Jack held his chin in thought, "After all, the existence of vampires would have sent people into a panic during that time."

The sorceress went silent for a moment as she tried to recall anymore details of the dream that might be important clues.

"Elizabeth called the vampire, her love. Did she have any boyfriends or something like that before she died?" she questioned.

He stared down at the floor and his eyes seemed very distant, as though he was in a completely different world. A slight sad expression overcame his features as his shoulders sagged, a little depressed.

"To tell you the truth…I honestly don't know." He finally looked up to her after much thought. "If she did, she must have met him in secret. Which, I guess, that would make sense."

"Yeah, I suppose so." She grasped her chin as she pondered. "Wait! There was one more thing I forgot about that happened in the dream. After that no good jerk ran off, Elizabeth whispered something and I'm certain it was a spell of some sort. A white ball of light floated out of her body after she said it and it shot off into the distance."

"Hmm…she must have done something to her soul in order to preserve her life." He flipped a few pages in the book, "But I have no idea what sort of spell she would have used. The best I can figure is that she sealed herself into an object of some sort."

"The family mirror!" The young sorceress gasped, which she seemed to be doing a lot of lately. "She must have! That would explain why I saw her face in its reflection that one night!"

"Yes that is probably it." He crossed his arms, "But, she wouldn't have tried to save herself by being trapped in a mirror forever. She must have had a reason for doing so, but what?"

"Well she was murdered by a guy who she thought loved her!" she put a hand on her hip, "Maybe she wanted to haunt him so she could one day seek her revenge."

"No I don't think so," he shook his head and handed her book back to her, "It has to be something else, something to do with you maybe. I have a feeling that Elizabeth was going to try to contact the next Armonia for help." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Or, maybe she is trying to send out a warning."

"Warning?" she arched an eyebrow in question. "For what?"

"I'm sure you've heard the phrase that history has a tendency of repeating itself." He said sternly.

"Wait…" she glared at him, "You aren't suggesting that my life is in jeopardy are you?"

He looked away, which was enough of an answer for the young ruler.

"You are!" she said accusingly. "Jack, please believe me when I say that I can handle myself." Her eyes softened, "You know that I am more than capable, you're the one who taught me how to defend myself."

"Amelia, as King of Halloween, I know all too well that most superstitions are real. I'm not willing to take any chances." He turned and walked closer to her. "You have to end it with Alucard, or else your very life could be at stake." His tone became calmer and more concerned as he placed his hand upon her shoulder. "I'm only looking out for you and I don't want to see you get hurt."

She was slightly taken aback at his sudden outburst of protectiveness. He had never been so stern with her before.

"I just don't know what I'd do if I ended up losing you." He admitted.

The young sorceress looked at the ground, feeling a little ashamed.

"Ever since I came to Halloween Town, I learned to never judge a book by its cover." She looked up at him and placed her hand over his, which caused his eyes to widen a little in surprise, "I really don't think that he has any intention to harm me, especially since he knows that you would be after him in a heartbeat." She laughed a little, "But on the other hand, I did make a promise to you and I _will_ keep it." She smiled warmly up at him.

Jack was greatly impressed at her boldness, and couldn't help but smile proudly as well.

"Well now that that's all said and done," he removed his hand from her shoulder and stepped back a few paces. "I'd say this morning is off to a decent start. No use then in staying in our pajamas all day." He joked.

"Alright." She giggled, "See you in a few." She then walked over to the spiral stairwell and made her descent down.

Jack scratched his head in thought as he gazed out the window at the rising, jack-o-lantern sun.

"I just can't believe it…Elizabeth is still _alive_?" he stared at the sky absentmindedly, "I don' know what I'd do if I ever saw her again. It's been so long." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He stood there and thought for a few moments.

"It's amazing really, the likeness is uncanny." He crossed his arms, "Well Amelia's personality _is_ slightly different than Elizabeth's, but I still don't know why I didn't see it before. They look so alike. Why, even their last _names_ are the same! I guess the years passed took its toll on my memory, and there's also the fact that I've pretty much watched Amelia grow up."

He shrugged and decided to leave the matter to be solved another time. Though in the back of his mind, he just couldn't stop thinking about his lost love and the chance of seeing her again.

The young sorceress was in her normal attire as she put her long, dark blonde hair up in its usual ponytail and placed her silver circlet crown upon her head. With delicate fingers, she gently grasped the beautiful blue pendant that was on her dresser, lifted it up tenderly, and walked over to her full-length mirror. She held the gem out in front of her as though she was about to place it around her neck, and simply gazed at its beauty as it sparkled in the glow of the morning sun. A soft smile graced her lips and she carefully placed the necklace around her throat, clasping the ends together. She stared at her reflection for a moment and a splash of pink stained her cheeks as the corners of her mouth raised a little. Her fingertips lightly brushed against the cool stone as she traced the delicate, silver wire wrapping.

"Who knew Jack had good taste?" she giggled.

The day was bright as the Princess and King of Halloween exited their home and began to make their way toward the town square. Amelia explained that she would probably not see Alucard until later that evening when the sun was down. Jack understood and gave a curt nod in agreement.

For the next few hours, it was nothing short of hectic chaos. Both royals bustled about as they tried to get things done and made sure that everything was in order and on task. They put on last minute final touches on the decorations, listened to the band rehearsal for the music at the masquerade, approved what the witches had come up with for the spooky effects to give the celebration a more frightful atmosphere, and of course, repeatedly tried to calm the Mayor down that everything was going according to plan and that they were not behind schedule. Before either of them knew it, the sun had begun to set.

It was late evening and Amelia was on her balcony with her elbow rested on the railing, holding her head up as she gazed into the horizon splashed with orange, pink, and purple colors. The last rays of sunlight shined just barely above the tree line and everything else was in shadow. The tired sorceress heaved a deep sigh.

"I don't know how I'm going to tell him, or even how to start for that matter." She stated as she thought about the inevitable breakup ahead. "But, a promise is a promise." She stood up straight and clasped her hands together as she rested her forearms against the metal rail.

"How is it that he always shows up when I never expect him and when I want to see him, he's never around?" she asked no one in particular.

"Because I prefer the mysterious disposition, personally." A deep, masculine voice spoke beside her, which caused her to jump a little in surprise.

Alucard leaned against the balcony with his arms crossed and a devilish smirk across his face as his alluring, crimson eyes met her azure ones.

She didn't know if it was just the way he looked, the way he sounded, or both that caused her cheeks to flush a little. Mentally she shook her head to regain her focus and determination, though admittedly she was slightly nervous.

"Alucard…" she took a deep breath, "I need to talk to you about something."

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**Ho ho! What's this? A cliffhanger!? Le gasp! **

**Oh can't you feel the tension beginning to rise!? Amelia is related to Elizabeth! What does this mean for Jack? Will he be reunited with his long lost love? Will Amelia be able to breakup with Alucard!? All of these questiones will be answered if you review ;-)**

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	17. A Broken Promise and The Ghost's Warning

**Oh my god I am so SORRY!! I know I promised that I would update by Saturday and I'm seriously late! Stupid college algebra! -throws textbook against the wall- I feel horrible and I wish I could make it up to you guys with another chapter but I honestly don't have that kind of time anymore...**

**I hope you can all forgive me and I hope you find the chapter to your liking! **

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Alucard was a little taken aback by the seriousness in Amelia's tone. It was, after all, rare that she ever used it unless it was something _very_ important. Nonetheless, he smiled kindly and gave her his undivided attention.

"Of course, I shall always listen to the woman who welcomed me with open arms and, though unintentionally," he smoothly stepped closer and cupped her chin, "stole my heart."

Her pulse sped up as she gazed into his mesmerizing crimson eyes. She felt her mind become hazy as her thoughts began to wander. However, she blinked a few times and managed to snap out of the weird sensation. Much to his surprise, she took a step back out of his grasp and her stern expression returned.

"Something really _is_ bothering you." He said with concern. "Go ahead and tell me what's on your mind."

"Yes, Alucard I…" she made the mistake of looking into his eyes again and felt as though she was lost in a heavy fog.

She tried to regain focus again, but this time with no such luck. Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around her waist and arms as she was pulled flush up against the vampire's body in a tight embrace.

"Whatever it is, I know it's difficult." He spoke gently next to her ear, "But please remember, I'll always be here for you. I love you, Amelia."

Her heart ached badly as he spoke those words. It felt as though someone's fist had just clenched her heart so hard that it even hurt to breathe.

"…Thank you." She spoke against her will for some strange reason. "But…it's not that hard honestly. I was wondering if…you planned on attending the masquerade ball."

'Wh-What? Why am I asking _that_?' she mentally questioned her bizarre actions.

Alucard chuckled and released his hold on her, though he kept his hands on her shoulders.

"Now why on earth did you go and make such a big deal out of it?" he raised an eyebrow as he smiled at her, flashing his sharp, white fangs.

"Erm, well…" she blushed a little from embarrassment, "I've never really danced with a guy before, you know, who was also my boyfriend."

"Is that all?" he laughed again, "You needn't worry about it at all, my princess." He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Just promise me one slow dance with you."

"Alright." She giggled.

She shivered slightly as she suddenly felt the gentle touch of his finger graze down her neck as he leaned in closer to her. She gulped as her blush returned five shades darker. Her pulse quickened and grew louder with each beat as his face neared her neck. Stricken with fear and panic, she found herself unable to move and stood frozen in her place. She shut her eyes tightly as she waited for his teeth to sink into her skin.

"What's this you're wearing?" he asked as his index finger glided over the cool stone of her necklace.

Amelia heaved a mental sigh of relief and tried to calm herself down, though she had a feeling that he knew she was a little uncomfortable.

"A-a birthday present." She stated after a moment.

"Really?" he moved his head to look her in the eyes, "I didn't know it was your birthday."

"Oh, well it was yesterday…" she flushed and scratched her head sheepishly, "I guess I kind of…forgot to tell you." She laughed nervously as she took a step back.

"So, who gave it to you?" he asked and crossed his arms as he raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Um, Jack did." She replied a little hesitantly.

"Ah, I see." He looked off to the side and she wasn't sure but she could have sworn she saw a hint of anger flash in his eyes but it was gone in an instant. She figured that it might have been just her imagination.

"But it's strange that he would have it." The vampire grasped his chin in thought, "Considering it doesn't belong to him."

"Huh? Why do you say that?" she asked, confused by his weird assumption.

"Because that stone around your neck is the gem of the Armonias." He explained.

"Wah!? It is!?" the teenaged sorceress was greatly surprised by the new piece of information yet again involving her mystical bloodline.

"Yes," he gave a curt nod, "that pendant has been passed down through the generations of Armonias. Though, mainly from their non-magical family members, for most Armonias don't live to see the next one born."

"Really? That's interesting." Amelia crossed her arms and thought, "But, how do you know about all of that?" she then had a rather peculiar revelation. "Come to think of it…you know a lot about the Armonias. Why?"

"What can I say?" he shrugged, "I've been around for more than five centuries and you think that I _wouldn't_ have run into one of your ancestors?"

"Well…I suppose that makes sense but…" she hesitated a moment, "Why did you bother to learn so much about them?"

He smirked as he walked behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Let's just say I find your race to be quite _fascinating_." He whispered in her ear, which caused her cheeks to be stained pink for what seemed like the thousandth time that night.

He always enjoyed making her get flustered over the littlest of things. The handsome vampire then moved to stand beside her and gently lifted her necklace a little with two fingers.

"You know, legend has it that for the Armonia who wears the gem, it will glow in the presence of their true love." He arched an eyebrow in suspicion as if to ask why it wasn't glowing for him.

"Hey don't blame me!" she waved her hand for emphasis, "It's a myth like you said so it probably isn't true." She avoided eye contact with him by shifting her gaze to the balcony glass door.

"Yes probably." He chuckled, then gently grasped her hands and gracefully spun her around to face him.

"By the way, in light of recent events, I have a special present for you." He smirked as one arms snaked around her waist and his hand tangled itself in her dark golden locks. He pulled her against him and leaned in closer to her.

"Wha-what are you doing?" she stuttered as her cheeks became stained with a rose color once more.

"I'm going to give you your first kiss." He said innocently.

Just as he was about to, he felt her index finger pressed against his lips. He looked at her in confusion, though she had turned her face away.

"It's not the right time." She stated a little depressed.

"Huh? What do you mean?" he asked, puzzled slightly.

"It just…doesn't feel right." She admitted.

His shoulders slumped and he heaved a sigh as he released her.

"Alright, I'll respect your wish." He said nobly, though it was obvious he was a little disappointed. The vampire then walked over to the railing. "I'll be off now. Don't want Jack to strangle me you know." He winked at her.

He then grasped the balcony rail and gracefully jumped onto the top, balancing himself perfectly as he stood up.

"Is there anything you wanted to say?" he turned back toward her, "I still feel as though you have something to tell me."

Amelia hesitated for a moment. If there was ever a time to face the inevitable, it was now.

"I…" she began softly, but then a strange mist rolled in. "uh…" she began to feel dizzy and put her hand upon her forehead. "Alucard…" she tried to locate him in the fog, though she was still in a daze.

Almost as quick as the mist had come, it dissipated and was gone, along with the yet-to-be ex-boyfriend.

"Alucard?" she blinked and looked around for him, but with no luck.

"Of course…" Her shoulders slumped and she sighed as she trudged back inside her bedroom.

In the trees several yards away from the home in which the Princess of Halloween lived, the handsome vampire stood on a dead branch with his arms crossed. He was hidden by the shadows as he watched the young royal retreat back into her room.

"She's even harder to hypnotize now. It must be because she has finally reached her sixteenth year." He stated as he glared at her window. "I've got to figure something stronger to use against that Armonia bloodline, but what? Hmm…"

He pondered for a moment with growing irritation in his crimson eyes, but then a smirk spread across his face. "It's too perfect!" he chuckled darkly as a strong wind blew past, causing his cape to flap in the breeze. The vampire then disappeared into a hazy fog along the powerful gust.

Amelia had plopped herself onto her bed and put her face in her palms. It took all of her willpower not to cry.

"Why am I so bad at keeping promises?" she questioned her conscious, her voice had started to break. "He's never going to trust me again!" a small tear escaped her eyes that slid down her cheek and slipped between her fingers. It fell onto the skirt of her dress which covered her knees and soaked into the material. Soon, a few more salty water droplets followed suit.

"Why? Why am I…such a…horrible person?" she choked out in between her quiet sobs.

"You're not Amelia…" a soft voice spoke.

The sorceress shot her head up and frantically looked around for whoever it was that had entered her room.

"Wh-who's there?" she asked as she looked toward the doorway, only to see no one there.

"Over here." It spoke again, and this time she could tell the voice was definitely feminine.

The distressed princess turned toward her full length mirror in the corner of the room nearest to her. There in its reflection wasn't a crumpled Amelia who sat on the edge of her bed, but a young woman in an elegant white gown. It was flattering, yet very conservative like that from the Victorian era. She had dark, messy locks that hung loosely around her shoulders and soft blue eyes. Her smile expressed both care and concern for the troubled teenager before her.

It was Elizabeth.

"I-it's you!" Amelia gasped and pointed shakily at the lady trapped in the mirror.

"It's quite rude to point," She placed a hand on her hip, "and I have a name, which I know you have recently found."

"Oh right, sorry Elizabeth." The sorceress tried using the name but it felt rather odd to address a ghost who was not only her ancestor, but the love of her best friend.

"I see our family's pendant has finally been passed down to the next Armonia." The ghost stated as she gestured to the necklace around her descendant's neck.

"So it belonged to you?" The princess of Halloween touched the stone lightly. "That explains how Jack probably got it."

"Ah, so he was the caretaker." A puzzled expression came over her features, "Strange. He didn't know about sorcery back then as far as I know."

"Yeah, he didn't know that you were a sorceress either. He only recently found out when I did." Amelia stated. "But…then why would he give it to me if he knew it belonged to you?"

"Well, it's possible that he sensed a connection between you and me subconsciously." Elizabeth suggested.

"It makes about as much sense as everything _else_ that's been happening to me lately." The princess shrugged.

"Ok then, enough of beating around the bush. Listen, I don't have a lot of time for I do not know how much longer my spell will last." The Victorian spoke in a serious tone. "I need to warn you. You mustn't attend the masquerade ball, or even _be_ in Halloween Town for that matter."

"Huh? Why?" Amelia questioned her look-alike relative.

"You are no longer safe. You _must_ leave…It's for your own good." Elizabeth said in a rather familiar tone.

"Wait a second…you're the one who told me to leave when I was in the cemetery that one night!" the young sorceress remembered.

"Yes, indeed that was I, along with many other things. But that is not important right now. What is important is for you to get out of here as soon as possible!" she spoke sternly to her descendent.

"But you still haven't told me _why_ yet." The Halloween royal pointed out as she crossed her arms, starting to get a little frustrated.

"You really are a Brave. Stubborn just like the rest of us." The ghost sighed, "If I told you why, you would not believe me and therefore, refuse to leave."

"Well I'm not going to leave period." Amelia stood up and walked over to the mirror. "Jack is…the whole _town_ is counting on me to do a good job with the Halloween celebration. I'm not about to let them down!"

"Listen to me Amelia." Elizabeth's tone was like that of a mother who tried to reason with her daughter. "Your very _life_ is in danger! You must leave immediately!" She looked down at the ground and a very solemn expression overcame her worried face.

"Someone, who you think cares for you deeply, is going to betray you." The Victorian looked back up to see the shocked face of the princess.

"Wha-what!? Betray me? Why? _Who_!?" The young sorceress became even more distraught.

"I cannot say for I know you would never believe me, no matter what I do." Her ancestor said sadly. "But do trust me when I say they _are_ going to try to kill you. You must prevent it at all cost."

"But how will I know who to protect myself from? _When_?" The slightly frightened teen questioned.

"When the full moon rises into the sky on the night of Halloween that is when he is going to strike." Elizabeth stated.

"Wait, _he_? How do you know all of this?" The young ruler was very confused and the stress of a possible murder attempt wasn't helping matters.

"My time is almost up, Amelia. Please, _please_ heed my warning. This man is not who he says he is and you must get out of here while you still can! It's the only way to be certain that you will be safe." The ghost still tried to convince her that she was in grave danger and had to get out.

"But I still don't understand!" the poor girl shouted. "Who is he? Why does he want to kill me!?"

"_Leave_…" Elizabeth's image faded quickly along with her voice.

"What? No!" Amelia pressed her hands to the glass. "Come back!" she called, but all that was left was a thin haze that soon dissipated as well and she was left staring at her devastated reflection.

"No…" he dropped to the floor on her knees. "Oh god what's going to happen to me?" she put her face in her hands, "What should I do?" she had so many questions that buzzed in her head, but no one was there to answer her.

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**Ok, maybe it wasn't a good idea to leave you guys with yet another cliff-hanger but hey, we're starting to get into the really intense part of the story! Need to have you readers on the edge of your seats ;-) **

**In this case, reviews make my whole day a lot better! So please review and help me get out of my slump...Thank you all!! **


	18. The King and Queen?

**OH MY GOD IT'S FINALLY HERE!! Which would be my expression and yours by now lol! I'm so sorry for the 3...week...wait...heh heh...but it's finally finished! I had enough time today and I completed it! I hope it was well worth the insanely long wait! **

**Also, I want to thank all of my readers who expressed concern for my grandmother, it really made me feel so much better. She's doing just fine now and is in a rehab hospital and should be able to go home soon :) Thank you all so much -hugs for everyone- **

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Amelia stood in front of the full-length mirror, fidgeting her hands as she bit her lower lip for her nerves had started to get to her. She was dressed in a frightfully beautiful gown with the bottom of the skirt barely touching the ground. The large, loose sleeves around her arms were black with silver trim around the edge. Her top was purple with a black spider web pattern and a v-neckline. Along it was a familiar collar that looked much like the bat wings of Jack's infamous bat bowtie. It even had the bat's head at the base of the V-shape. Around her waist was a small, silver sash which attached the skirt of her dress to the rest of her outfit. The bottom belled out around her legs and split down the middle, starting at the center of the silver belt where an azure jewel hung. It revealed the purple underskirt with the same spider web pattern as her top. She even wore black shoes with a little bit of heel in them to make her an inch or so taller.

However, she couldn't help but feel slightly awkward for she wasn't used to such fancy, albeit scary attire, other than her normal sorceress garb. But even that really wasn't nearly as formal as what she wore now. Her fingers lightly touched the cool stone of the pendant around her neck that matched the gem in the silver circlet crown upon her head. To even further emphasize to her new attire, she wore her elbow-length, dark blonde hair down instead of up in its usual ponytail. She took a deep breath and exhaled for she hoped it would calm her nerves down some what, but with not much luck.

Amelia had fallen asleep soon after the encounter with Elizabeth, and wasn't sure if it even really happened. She never did figure out who could possibly betray her trust and try to kill her. Having gone against Jack for the second time, she just couldn't bring herself to address him about it. He was protective of her enough as it is, which to her, was a good enough reason _not_ to tell him. At least, that's what she thought.

It was now the afternoon of Halloween Day and Amelia had pretty much ignored her ancestor's persistent warning. She had not seen, or heard, the ghostly Victorian since that night and the young sorceress became more and more worried as each day had passed. She had reached a crossroads of what to do, and just simply didn't know where to turn. The best she felt that she could do was to teach herself a few more spells for her own self-defense, which of course, she did.

But oddly enough, her book went missing a few days prior, after she had mastered those spells. She nearly tore apart her room when she frantically looked everywhere for it, but to no avail. She gave up on the search with the thought that it would turn up eventually. To occupy her time the past few days that didn't have to do with the holiday preparations, she taught herself to dance a simple waltz, with the help of a little magic of course. She used a different type of shadow manipulation to form a lamp's silhouette into a simple dance partner. It took her several tries but she finally got the steps down. But dancing with a shadow was one thing, dancing with an actual person was another.

Amelia took a deep breath as she stood in front of the mirror and began to move across the hardwood floor in time to music that only she could hear. She felt a little awkward as she danced in her heels, which she had broken in only the day before. Her ankle wanted to twist several times as she tried to keep herself balanced. Living up to her reputation as a clumsy sorceress, she tripped over her own two feet and started to fall backward. She tightly closed her eyes shut and braced for impact with the hard ground below. But she never did. Instead, she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and another firmly grasped her hand. Instinctively, her own gripped the person's shoulder, still in slight shock from falling.

"Are you alright?" a familiar voice asked after a moment.

Shakily, she opened her eyes and looked up at her savior.

"Jack!?" her face turned several different shades of red as she stared wide-eyed at the smiling skeleton man. "I-I'm fine…th-thanks to you." She tried to beat down her blush from embarrassment, and from their close proximity.

"Better be more careful next time." He winked and gracefully lifted her up to stand on her own, almost as though they were dancing.

"What can I say?" she laughed sheepishly as her blush finally started to die down, "I guess I just have two left feet."

"Well to be honest," he crossed his arms, "you were doing just fine up until you tripped."

"Erm…" she looked down at the floor, her cheeks regaining their pink tint, "How long were you standing there?"

"Long enough to tell that something is bothering you." He uncrossed his arms and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "What's on your mind? You know you can tell me." He smiled warmly at her.

"It's just that…I'm nervous. Scared is probably a better word for it." She admitted and finally glanced back up at him. "How will I know that I won't mess up? Or, as you just witnessed, fall flat on my face?"

"Also, as you just saw, I'll be there to catch you." He said reassuringly, "Don't worry so much. No need to put the extra pressure on yourself."

He removed his hand from her shoulder and lifted her head up to make sure she looked him directly in the eyes.

"Chin up. I have full confidence in you." He beamed, "Besides, I couldn't have asked for a better Queen."

"Queen!?" her eyes went wide in surprise. She tried to fight down the blush that yet again threatened spread across her face.

"Yes, you are going to have complete rule over Halloween tonight." He explained as he moved his hand away, "This is, after all, a test to see if you are capable of taking over because you will one day become The Pumpkin Queen." He chuckled, "Well, at least I hope you do when the time comes that I decide to step down."

"Oh right, right." She gave a curt nod to show that she understood. 'Of course it was that!' she mentally scolded herself, 'Why on earth would I think otherwise!? Gee, maybe it's because of the guilt of breaking my promise to him keeps growing! Why am I such an _idiot_!?'

"Although by the looks of it, you're already stealing my style." He gently grabbed the tip of her bat-collar. "I thought I was missing one of my bowties."

She laughed at his light-hearted joke and he soon joined in as well.

"Well, I'll leave you be, time for me to get into my own costume anyhow." He turned and started out the door, but then turned back to face her for a moment. "You'll do fine for you've already proved to be more than able." With one last smile, he left.

Amelia beamed happily and had a sudden boost of confidence. "Yeah, I can do it. He obviously has faith in me, so why shouldn't I?" She glanced around hesitantly before she twirled in a circle with glee and giggled a little. "I'm so glad Jack is always there for me, if he wasn't I don't know…" her eyes widened again and her pupils shrank down to their familiar microscopic dots.

'_Someone, who you think cares for you deeply, is going to betray you…_' Elizabeth's words rang in her head.

"No…" she breathed. "No! Jack wouldn't! He _couldn't!_ But…it seems he cares for me more than anything else." She became stricken with anxiety. "Why? Why would he?" she glanced over to her mirror in the corner of the room. "Oh I wish you were here Elizabeth. I can't figure this out on my own!"

A feeling of sorrow greatly overwhelmed her and she put her face in her hands in despair. It took all of her willpower not to cry from both fear and worry.

"There's just no way…" she whispered.

'I'm so proud of Amelia.' Jack thought has he casually walked down the hall, 'As well as amazed at how fast she has grown up. It's quite remarkable how she seems to bloom in maturity more and more each day. She's come so far in such a short amount of time.'

Jack hummed in content as he made his way up the spiral staircase to the tower. He was very pleased with how good everything was going so far that day. Needless to say, he was rather excited for the celebration to start, and to see the heir to his throne take the lead. He skipped a few steps as he neared the top and finally entered his room. Gleefully, he made his way over to a tall, dark brown, wooden wardrobe, which was slightly deformed like everything else in Halloween Town. Opening the doors, he reached in and pulled out a rather spooky looking ensemble for the approaching Halloween night. It had a black and orange pinstripe vest with a pale orange undershirt. The dress pants, shoes, and the long trench coat were all midnight black. The sleeves of the coat had pale orange cuffs to match the undershirt. The collar, cuffs, and edges of the coat were cut and torn to create a more scary effect.

Jack was very pleased with his new attire, though he had had a rough start. He wasn't at all sure about any sort of design and pondered about asking Amelia. But, she had been busy at the time with all of the other sketches for costumes by request from some of the citizens that he felt it would have been rude to bother her. So, he decided to ask the two witches for assistance. They were more than "unhappy" to help their king whom they admired so dearly. Almost immediately after he had asked, they began their work. The two of them quickly came up with several designs and had Jack pick the one he liked best. All of the designs were good, but a big smile spread across his face as soon as he saw the outfit which he now held in his hands. It was quite different from his normal pinstriped suit and he very much welcomed the change.

The Pumpkin King stood in front of a mirror that was inside one of the wardrobe doors with his new attire on, fixing the spiky collar and the cuffs of the coat sleeves which had crinkled a little. He then took a few steps back and analyzed his appearance.

"Hmm…I do miss my bat bowtie, but I am very satisfied." He put his hands on his hips and beamed at his reflection.

"Hey Jack I…_Whoa_." a feminine voice spoke from behind him which caused him to turn toward the visitor.

Amelia had come up the spiral staircase and started toward him, but quickly froze in her tracks and her jaw dropped when she saw him. He didn't notice it, but her cheeks had turned a faint shade of pink.

"It's a little unexpected yes, but what do you think?" Jack asked smiling, eagerly awaited her opinion.

"I-it's amazing!" she walked over to him, still awe-struck. "Wow. You look great! Err…_horrifying_." She grinned.

"Thank you my dear." He gave a small bow. "Oh! Excuse me, how could I have been so rude? I never complimented your costume!" He crossed his arms, "I must say that you look quite astounding! _Very_ frightening indeed."

"Thank you." She looked down as her light blush intensified.

"Come now, don't be modest Ami." He beamed and lifted her chin up with two bony fingers so she would meet his gaze. "You look beautiful, and I'm not using Halloween speak."

Her cheeks turned several different shades of red from his words, and her thoughts about how he looked very handsome in his new outfit didn't help matters. She gulped and tried to calm down her racing heart.

"Y-you're just saying that t-to get me all flustered, aren't you?" she asked suspiciously, though she stuttered some.

"_Maybe_." He teased and held his hands behind his back, trying to look innocent. Jack couldn't help but enjoy picking on her a little, even though he had, in fact, meant what he said.

Amelia just smiled and rolled her eyes, then playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"Well knock it off." She giggled. "I'm Queen now after all, so you had better watch it." She poked him and winked.

"Oh of course, _please_ forgive me your majesty." He gave an exaggerated, yet graceful bow to play along.

"I will this time, but next time you won't be so lucky." She shook her finger and placed a hand on her hip.

He chuckled and walked up next to her as he offered his arm to her.

"Shall we then?" he smiled warmly.

"Yes we shall." She beamed up at him as she gratefully took his arm and they began their descent down the spiral staircase.

'Jack couldn't be the one Elizabeth was trying to warn me about.' Amelia thought to herself, 'It just doesn't add up! He's so kind, loyal, generous, caring…tall…handsome.' She mentally slapped herself as soon as it had crossed her mind. 'Get a grip Amelia! He's practically family! Not to mention you still have a boyfriend whom you have _yet_ to break up with. You know how disappointed Jack would be if he knew! He wouldn't trust you anymore!'

She tried to keep her composure normal so as not to alert Jack about her inner turmoil.

"Oh, by the way Amelia, I was meaning to ask you something." He suddenly said out of the blue.

Her face went as white as a sheet when he spoke those words.

"When you came upstairs, were you going to tell me something?" he asked.

"Oh that!" she heaved a mental sigh of relief. "I was wondering if you could cast a spell that would create the illusion that I was on fire."

He raised an eyebrow in slight confusion.

"Well, you set yourself on fire during the normal Halloween celebration and I didn't want to break the tradition." She explained, "But I can't exactly be set on fire." She laughed sheepishly.

"Ah yes, I suppose I could." He grasped his chin in thought. "But I thought you already had something planned."

"I did, but it's kind of difficult to concentrate to maintain an illusion while dancing." She over-exaggerated her frown, "Especially in heels."

He laughed at her comical grief.

"A girl who _isn't_ used to wearing high heels, now _there's_ a shock." He arched a would-be eyebrow and smiled.

"Oh can it." A wicked grin spread across her face and she looked up at him, "_Scaredy Skeleton_."

He sent her a heated glare at the loathsome nickname. "Touché," he let go of her arm and opened the front door for her like a gentleman. But as she passed him, he leaned downed and said, "_Pumpkin Princess_."

She turned to see him give her a mischievous smile of his own which caused hers to falter. She crossed her arms and huffed as she turned on her heel, giving him the cold shoulder.

"See if I let you escort me the rest of the way." She began to storm off down the outdoor steps to the front gate.

"Come on Ami, I was only kidding." The skeleton said as he quickened his pace a little to catch up with her.

"Nope, I'm ignoring you starting now." She held her nose high in the air and began to walk a little faster.

"If you do that, I won't help you with your spell." He countered as he crossed his arms and continued to follow her. To his surprise, she didn't respond.

"Um, Amelia?" he asked dumbfounded, even though he should have known that she meant what she said.

"Ok you're right, I wouldn't do that." He admitted and tried to think of something else he could use.

"Alright, alright I give up." The skeleton stated after a few minutes of pondering with no luck. Silence was his only response from the young sorceress.

"I'm sorry?" he tried apologizing but that got him no where fast as well. "Teenagers," he mumbled, then heaved a sigh for he knew he would immediately regret saying what he was about to offer.

"What can I do to make it up to you?" he got a bad feeling as soon as the words had left his mouth.

"_Really_?" Amelia had stopped and turned toward him.

"…yes." He slumped a little.

"Hmm…" she grasped her chin in thought, but then a sly grin spread across her face and she happily walked over to him. "Promise to never call me that again." She stated.

"Eh!? That's it!?" he was stunned by the simplicity of her request.

"Yup." She put her hands on her hips and looked up at him expectantly.

"I don't know if I could keep a promise like that." He crossed his arms and glanced off to the side.

"Huh? But you have to! You said you would." She pointed out.

"Ok, I will. But on one condition." He held up his index finger for emphasis.

"Well that hardly seems fair!" she complained.

"It's a simple one, nothing special." He reassured her.

"Fine," she rolled her eyes, "what is it then?"

"You'll see." He winked at her and then began to leave her behind as he made his way toward the town square.

"What!? Hey! Come back here!" she managed to catch up to him, even in her black high heels. She tried to get him to tell her, using everything she could think of, but he wouldn't budge.

Jack had successfully turned the tables on the now confused sorceress.

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**What could Jack possibly want? Will Amelia tell him about Elizabeth's warning? Will she _ever_ break up with Alucard!? Stay tunned to find out! You've all read so now it's time to push that review button! :D**


	19. The Secret Is Out!

**Ok folks, before you all kill me, please let me explain!!! I had planned on updating a few days ago, nearly a week, but right as I was about to save my completed chapter the computer died on me! I tried so hard to recover what I had written but it just didn't work! I had to rewrite the whole thing and if you think that it would be easy since I already wrote it once, it's not...probably even harder...but anyway that's the reason for the delay!!! Honest!!! **

**I took some good advice from a friend to just kind of forget about what I had already written and start with a fresh mind. I did so and I like how it came out. True it's not as good as what I had before but it's certainly better than what I thought I was going to end up with! I hope you all enjoy the chapter! **

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"Tell me."

"Nope."

"Tell me!"

"Nope."

"Tell me…_please_?"

"Mmm…nope."

"Gah! You are being _so_ unfair!" Amelia stomped her foot in frustration toward the tall skeleton man who walked beside her.

"Call it revenge." He chuckled in amusement.

She shot him a heated glare before she crossed her arms and then turned her attention toward the town square up ahead. Soon a short, stout man with a tall top hat was noticed by the two for he was waving frantically at them.

"Oh there you are Jack and Amelia!" said the Mayor. "I was afraid I was going to have to go look for you two." His face was turned to his _happy_ side.

"You needn't worry Mr. Mayor, we're quite early actually." Jack pointed out.

"Still, better safe than sorry!" the elected official turned his attention to the sorceress who stood next to the king. "I must say, you look rather _frightful_ this evening Amelia. I'm looking forward to tonight's celebration with you as the lead. You did an absolutely _terrible_ at yesterday's rehearsal, if I do say so myself."

"Yes, she most definitely proved herself to be quite the _scare_." The tall skeleton man beamed proudly.

"Nah, I've just lived here for so long that the terror of the town just kind of rubbed off on me." She laughed sheepishly.

Though she was being modest, she did really appreciate the compliments. Especially from Jack, even though she had been mad at him only a moment before.

"Still, I just know that you will do a most _horrible_ job!" the Mayor stated gleefully. "Well, best be off! It's not long now until the festivities begin so we had better get to our places right away!"

Jack and Amelia nodded in agreement and with that, the happy stout man in the tall top hat went off in one direction while the two Halloween royals walked the opposite way. They headed toward the edge of the square where a tall straw horse stood. With each step she took, Amelia felt her nerves further eat away at her excitement and replaced it with worry.

"Jack…I don't know if I can do this." She came to a stop and looked down at her feet. Her words had caused him to come to an abrupt halt as well. "I just have a bad feeling. How will I know that I'm not going to mess up? How will I know that something won't go completely wrong? I…I'm just not sure at all."

He looked at her slumped form with a slightly puzzled expression. He hadn't expected anxiety to get the better of her.

"Nonsense Amelia, you did a splendid job at the practice run yesterday." Jack stated.

"But that's because you were there to help me! And…I just have a feeling that something really _bad_ is going to happen." She avoided his gaze in shame.

"Funny, you always struck me as a person who kept their promises." He stated a little coldly as he crossed his arms.

"Huh?" she was greatly taken aback by his comment.

"I seem to recall you telling the citizens that this year's Halloween would be the most _awful_ one yet. It's not very good if the Queen abandons her people the very first moment she is scared." He knew his words where harsh but it's what she had to hear in order to knock some sense back into her, and hopefully suppress her nerves somewhat. "Now what kind of leader would you be if you don't stand by your word?"

She looked down at her feet and thought for a moment before she lifted her head to meet his gaze again, this time not with fear but with determination.

"You're right, Jack. I did make a promise and I _will_ keep it. You can be certain of that." Her demeanor had changed quite drastically, "I said that it would be the most _awful_ one yet and by gosh, I'm going to make sure of it!"

"Now _that's_ the Amelia Brave I know." He smiled proudly at her.

"Thanks Jack." She said with gratitude as she walked up beside him, "I needed that."

She then made her way over to the straw horse, levitated herself and sat side-saddle upon it. Jack had intended on helping her up but he figured that it was best to let her have a moment of independence.

For the celebration, she planned to lie down on the straw animal's back. Though considering what she was wearing now, she didn't really like the idea. But, she decided to just let it go. Although, she still couldn't help but feel slightly awkward about it. So for the time being, she comfortably sat sideways on the horse. Amelia was ready for the celebration to commence, but then realization dawned on the young sorceress.

"Jack, what are you supposed to be doing during all of this?" she raised an eyebrow for emphasis on her curiosity. He didn't exactly have a "role" because he had helped his heir to the Pumpkin throne for most of the rehearsal.

"Oh that's right! I almost forgot." The tall, sharply dressed skeleton snapped his fingers. All of a sudden, he was covered in a long black cloak. His face was hidden by a shadow cast from the long hood so the only thing you could see of him at all were his skeletal hands. He no longer looked like Jack, the Pumpkin King, but now like the Grim Reaper.

"Eh?" the Queen for the day was greatly confused by the unexpected costume change.

"I'll be the one to bring you in this year." He pulled back the hood so she could see him, "It also allows me to be close by just in case you need me."

At first, she felt a little bad for basically stealing the spotlight from him but then another thought occurred to her. He probably wanted the small part for there was next to no pressure and like he had said, he could keep watch without any hassle. Not to mention be able to concentrate on the fire illusion spell for when she is supposed to be set ablaze. Even though he had been the lead for so long, he probably welcomed the break.

Then music began to play, signaling the start of the celebration.

"Well, are you ready?" Jack asked with a kind smile before he pulled his hood back over his head.

"As ready as I'll ever be." She gave a curt nod, but her nerves started to resurface a little. She took a deep breath to relax and her determination returned.

_Boys and girls of every age,_

_Wouldn't you like to see something strange? _

_Come with us and you will see,_

_This, our town of Halloween._

_This is Halloween, this is Halloween._

_Pumpkins scream in the dead of night! _

_This is Halloween, everybody make a scene._

_Trick or treat till the neighbor's gonna die of fright!_

_It's our town, everybody scream!_

_In this town of Halloween._

_I am the one hiding under your bed,_

_Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red! _

_I am the one hiding under your stairs,_

_Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair!_

_This is Halloween, this is Halloween!_

_Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! _

_In this town we call home,_

_Everyone hail to the pumpkin song._

_In this town, don't we love it now? _

_Everybody's waiting for the next surprise! _

_'Round that corner, man, hiding in the trash can,_

_Something's waiting now to pounce, and how you'll— _

_**Scream! **_

_This Is Halloween!_

_Red and black, _

_And slimy green!_

_Aren't you scared? _

_Well, that's just fine!_

_Say it once, say it twice, _

_Take a chance and roll the dice._

_Ride with the moon in the dead of night!_

_Everybody scream, everybody scream! _

_In our town of Halloween._

_I am the clown with the tear-away face,_

_Here in a flash and gone without a trace! _

_I am the "who" when you call "Who's there?" _

_I am the wind blowing through your hair._

_I am the shadow on the moon at night,_

_Filling your dreams to the brim with fright!_

_This is Halloween, this is Halloween!_

_Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! _

_Halloween! Halloween!_

_Tender lumplings everywhere, _

_Life's no fun without a good scare!_

_That's our job, but we're not mean,_

_In our town of Halloween._

_In this town, _

_Don't we love it now? _

_Everyone's waiting for the next surprise!_

Jack took his cue to bring out Amelia on the straw horse. She was lying down on her back with her arms folded across her chest and eyes closed like a perfect corpse. She used her levitation powers to slowly lift herself upright until she was standing and facing the audience.

_The heir of Jack might catch you in the back,_

_And scream like a banshee, _

_Make you jump out of your skin!_

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and her entire body seemed to be lit in a fiery blaze.

_This is Halloween, everybody scream!_

_Won't ya please make way for a very special gal? _

The sorceress jumped into the air and landed slowly with an eerie grace. Her expression was the grief of a lost soul who had been brutally murdered, and of anger from the unrest spirit that wanted revenge. She began to dance while the fire still appeared to swallow her whole, yet brought no harm to her.

_Ami is back and Queen of the pumpkin patch,_

_Everyone hail to the Pumpkin Queen now!_

She ceased her dance and shot a beam of the blazing fire straight up into the sky. As it seemed to touch the clouds, the inferno dispersed into individual fiery orbs that then began to rain down upon the citizens below. But just before they touched, the fire turned into bats and flew around terrorizing the audience. They then came back to Amelia and circled around her as she began to dance again, still ablaze with orange and yellow flames.

"This is Halloween, this is Halloween!

Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Hallow—GASP!" The crowd ceased their singing and celebration from shock.

Amelia had tripped over a rock, which apparently just appeared out of nowhere, and she fell to the ground, shattering the illusion of being lit on fire. The flames faded and the bats turned into smoke with a _poof_. She looked up to see the surprised faces of the audience and heard the whispers that started to spread.

"It was all an illusion?" questioned a demon.

"But why, she's a sorceress!" A witch declared.

"She shouldn't have to use a spell right?" a monster questioned.

"I thought sorcerers couldn't be burned easily." stated a devil.

"Then why would she need to use fake fire?" asked a werewolf.

"It's because she's a human!"

Another gasp of surprise was heard from the audience after a familiar voice made the statement. A path was made in the crowd so that the person could move through.

"I knew from the very beginning that there was something suspicious about you." It was Doctor Finklestein who made the accusation and now approached said questionable sorceress.

"It makes _perfect_ sense." He stated as he rolled his chair up to her, not giving her a chance to talk. "Her odd behavior, her unusually fast growth, it even explains why she has been so vague about her real home!"

More murmurs were heard among the crowd, most still trying to recover from the revelation.

"N-no! That's not it at all!" the frightened teenaged girl tried to defend herself.

"You have put us all in danger by knowing about our existence!" the scientist exclaimed.

"Please Doctor!" Jack rushed to Amelia's side, no longer wearing his black cloak, and back in his masquerade costume. "Let her explain!"

"So, _you've_ known about this as well!?" Even the genius, if slightly mad, scientist hadn't expected that. "And you, our _king_, kept it a secret from all of us!?"

Mixed feelings were expressed throughout the mob of citizens. They didn't like the fact that they had been lied to for the past seven years. Though some understood Jack's reasoning, many thought it wasn't a good idea at all for him to hide such a big secret from his people.

"We cannot lose you Jack for you are too well respected as our leader." The doctor addressed the Pumpkin King, "But this will be one dent in your reputation that will take a long time to fix."

The tall skeleton man had remained silent for he knew his good friend's harsh words did have truth to them.

"As for you," Doctor Finklestein turned and glared at the sorceress. "You obviously do not belong here. You must leave Halloween Town at once, never speak of its existence, and never return."

"Now wait a min—" Jack started but was suddenly cut off when a _poof_ was heard and all that was left of the girl who had stood next to him was a faint cloud of smoke.

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**Ah yes, such a long wait only to leave you with another cliff hanger (avoids assassination attempts) Please don't kill the writer!! **

**Anyway, I hope I can be much faster with the next update because hopefully I won't run into another stupid computer problem Thanks for reading! Reviews make the world go round! :D **


	20. Keeping The Promise

**Well here it is folks! The long-awaited, answer to the cliff-hanger, chapter! Well whatcha still reading this for? Read the chapter! Lol!

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All Jack wanted to do at that moment was run after her for he knew she had disappeared to get herself away from the commotion, upset and ashamed. However, if he didn't deal with the matter at hand, things would only get worse. With a look of determination, he walked past Doctor Finklestein and stood on the ledge of the fountain with the grotesque demon statue.

"Please, listen to me!" he demanded with a tone of voice which only belonged to that of a true king. The crowd immediately silenced and turned their attention toward him.

"Yes, it is true that Amelia and I have lied to you. But you _must_ understand! Though she was born human, she is indeed a true-blood sorceress. When she came to Halloween Town, she promised me that she would never reveal its existence, or any of the other holidays, to the human world. She has kept that promise for seven years!" a rather sad expression came upon his face, "She loves this place dearly. She cares for all of you! Amelia would never turn her back on us, nor try to purposely harm us." His eyes seemed to brighten up with confidence, "She has helped us throw one of the greatest Halloween celebrations this town has _ever_ seen!"

He saw many of the citizens turn to each other and mumble in agreement. Jack knew he was getting through to them.

"I trust her with my undead life, and I know she would give hers for this very place. Halloween Town is now practically her home and she misses it so whenever she does return to her world." He decided to throw in one last line that just might convince the crowd of creatures. "After seven years, if she wanted to reveal our existence, even though she knows what the consequences would be, wouldn't she have done so long ago?"

Talk of agreement, and even guilt, was expressed throughout the group of citizens. Jack could tell that they now understood her side of the story and felt bad for treating her so horribly, and not in the "Halloween" way. He had convinced his people to welcome her back, now there was just one person left to convince. He stepped down from the fountain's ledge and started to walk over to the man in question.

"Doctor Finklestein," the Pumpkin King addressed the scientist with a stern tone of voice and crossed his arms, "Do you believe me when I say that Amelia has not, and will not ever betray the very people she cares for so deeply?"

"Hmm, you do raise a good point about how she has yet to tell the rest of the humans about this place." The slightly mad scientist tried to make it seem as though he was still debating when, in fact, he realized he should have never questioned the king's judgment. "Go get the girl. We can't have Halloween without her anyhow."

"Thank you Doctor." Jack smiled and mentally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Doctor Finklestein asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "If you stay here any longer she might never come back."

Without a second thought, the Pumpkin King dashed through the square and out the town gate. He knew exactly where Amelia had disappeared to, the very place where she always went when she was sad.

"I hope I'm not too late." He said as he picked up his pace.

Had he looked back only for a moment he would have noticed a stealthy shadow in pursuit.

"Why? Why did it all go wrong?" the grieving sorceress asked in between her sobs.

Tears cascaded down her stained red cheeks from having cried for so long. She had her arms crossed with her face buried, rested upon a tombstone, the very same tombstone from that fateful night seven years ago.

"Stupid…Doctor." She sniffled and started to feel anger boil up within her. "What does he know?" the salty drops of water that once fell like a waterfall had slowed to a small drip. "I know I haven't spent all of my time here, but I love this place to death! I consider it more of home than my real one. Why would I betray the very people who I'll one day rule?"

She stood up, her blood hot with fury.

"So, I'm not trustworthy am I?" she glared up toward the starry night sky above. "I'll show you what happens when you call me a liar!"

She drew her arm back as though she was going to throw something straight up into the air then shot her hand up with all of her strength. A fiery blaze was unleashed out of her palm and the inferno grew in intensity as the pillar of fire rose higher into the air. She drew her hand back from shock and almost as soon as the blaze was let out, it vanished.

"_Whoa_! What the heck!?" she looked at her palm in disbelief. "I hadn't indented the fire to be _that_ powerful!"

She looked back up into the sky and saw the pale moon looking down at her. She suddenly remembered what she read about her Armonia bloodline.

_For a normal Armonia, their powers will be fully developed sixteen years after their birth. At which time, their greatest weakness comes into affect. On the nights of a New Moon, from sundown to sunrise of the next day, they lose their voice completely. However, on nights of a Full Moon, they are at their most powerful and do not need to recite incantations for most spells. _

Indeed the moon was full that Halloween night and Amelia was not the only one to take notice of the fact. Within the shadows lurked the very skeleton sorcerer who taught her everything she knew about magic.

"Of course!" Jack whispered to himself from his hiding spot behind a tree. "That's why she didn't recite a spell to transport herself here, she just _thought_ it!" He grasped his chin as he pondered more, "But she only just realized the cause of the increase in her power. Her desire to disappear must have been strong enough that it just happened! Interesting…"

The intrigued Pumpkin King should have kept his thoughts to himself for also hiding in the darkness just behind him was someone who also found most intriguing the information just unknowingly given.

'Yes, _very_ interesting indeed.' The stranger thought. 'It makes tonight all the more perfect.'

Amelia found her increase in strength great for unleashing her wrath. Without the need for an incantation, she took to the sky and called forth the shadows of the tombstones below. All of the dark silhouettes stretched up toward her and she gathered them all into an orb. She concentrated on the sphere of shadows and her hands circled around it as though it was a crystal ball. Her fingertips began to glow yellow then she touched the ends of them to the orb and pulled it apart. A blast of fire exploded from the shadows. Then the blaze, combined with the skinny silhouettes, encircled her. The wind created from the mere force of her showy magic blew her dress to the side like a flag as her hair whipped out but miraculously didn't get in her face. She closed her eyes and descended down until her feet touched the ground. Then suddenly, she thrust her hand up into the air like before and the fire shot up into the sky while the shadows circled around her like a ring and rapidly grew wider before snapping like a whip against the first object it came in contact with. She performed a beautiful, yet lethal spell with the beauty and the eerie grace only a sorceress could have.

Amelia let her arm rest at her side and she let out a deep breath, having finally calmed down with exerting all of her anger into that one furious attack.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side."

The sorceress spun around on her heel and came face to face with none other than the man she secretly harbored feelings for, though she would never admit it.

"Jack!?" she flushed a little from embarrassment and avoided his gaze. "…you saw that?"

"Yes, and that had to have been the most splendid show of shadows and fire that I've _ever_ seen!" he beamed proudly, "I must say, if the Doctor saw that, he would most certainly think twice about his assumption."

"Oh yeah…that…" she turned away slightly and her distant eyes were obvious clues to her grief returning.

The Pumpkin King nearly slapped himself as soon as he realized what he had said. He really needed to learn to think about what he was going to say _before_ he spoke.

"I'm sorry Jack…" she clutched her blue raindrop pendant. "I failed…failed as a sorceress, and as your heir."

"Now Amelia you _know_ that's not true." He protested.

"But it is." Her tone was oddly even, laced with gloom. "You saw what happened."

"But you didn't see what happened afterward." He stated firmly and moved to stand in front of her gaze, although she was still staring at the ground. "I talked to the citizens. They _understand_ now. They know that you would never betray them, and they feel horrible for thinking otherwise. And not the good kind of horrible either."

"Doctor Finklestein…he made a good point though. I don't belong." She looked up to him, her eyes shined with the fresh tears that threatened to fall. "I'm a human in the realm of the undead. I _don't_ belong."

"Has that stopped you before?" he asked genuinely.

"No…" she admitted, "But that was before everyone knew my real identity." A single tear rolled down her cheek as she brought her hands up and lifted her crown off her head.

"I know they don't want me as their next ruler now so I will abide by their wishes. I'm obviously not fit to be your heir so," She offered her silver circlet crown to him, "I hereby renounce my title as Princess, and Queen, of Halloween."

"Amelia! You…you can't be _serious_!" he was absolutely shocked by her sudden decision.

"I am Jack." She said sternly. "You stepping down eventually and a sorceress as your successor was change enough for the citizens. A human as Queen…that's too drastic of a change."

"My dear Ami, there is something that I should have told you a long time ago." He gently pushed back her crown so she wasn't trying to give it back to him anymore. "You wouldn't have inherited the throne while you were alive." His words were something she did not expect. "When you died, because of the tie you have with our world, you would've been sent here like me when my time came. You would have then chosen a new form to fully take away whatever was left that bound you to the human world. After that, I would have stepped down and you would become the Queen." He closed his eyes for a moment then opened them again to meet her still surprised gaze. "The only way you would take the throne while you were living would be if something happened to me and I was killed, _permanently_."

She obviously didn't like the thought of Jack being gone for good at all. She bit her lower lip as she took all of this new information in.

"I honestly should have told you a lot sooner, probably when you returned way back during the summer even." Jack scratched his head a little ashamed. But he regained his composure and stood a little taller. "Amelia, do please reconsider about renouncing your throne. In fact, you being so willing to give it up for the good of the people was probably the best example of leadership I've seen in quite sometime. I would be a fool to not have named you as my heir." He smiled warmly with hope that she was convinced.

"Do you really think they'll welcome me back?" she asked after a minute or so of silence.

"I know for a fact they will." He stated.

"Alright." She finally said after a moment, "I won't renounce my title." She smiled up at him and placed her circlet crown back on her head.

"Ha ha! I knew you wouldn't let me down!" he exclaimed with joy as he picked her up by her waist and spun around.

"Wha!" she gave a startled shriek of surprise as he did so and gripped his shoulders in fear of falling. She was glad when her feet touched the ground again. A faint tint of pink splashed across her cheeks, but she laughed at the way he expressed his glee.

"Sorry, got a little carried away there." He chuckled and grinned from would-be ear to would-be ear.

He took a step away from her and offered his hand to her. Immediately she was reminded of the time he did the same thing after he had convinced her to come to Halloween Town when she had first accidentally stumbled upon the magical place. Still with a warm smile across her face, she gratefully placed her hand in his and this time Amelia was positive that this time she felt her heart leap when his hand clasped around hers as they began to make their way back to town.

But lurking in the trees just above was the mysterious stranger who had watched the two closely. They narrowed their eyes in a heated glare at them before a mist suddenly rolled in and the unknown visitor disappeared along with the bizarre fog.

Meanwhile back in town, the Mayor was pacing in a circle with his head switched to his "worried" expression.

"They've been gone for a while! Oh I hope Jack was able to get Amelia to come back. We can't continue Halloween without them!" he fretted rather comically, though it was hardly a joke to him.

"Why did you have to do that to poor Amelia anyway!?" he questioned the pessimistic scientist.

"Well forgive me for being concerned for our fair town." He said haughtily, "She's a human and I was simply worried for our safety." He crossed his arms, still a little stubborn about his reasoning.

He received a rather sad and disappointed look from the elected official.

"However, though I bitterly hate to admit this," he gritted his teeth, "I was wrong to think she would betray us after seven years of loyalty."

"Why thank you doctor, I appreciate that." A feminine voice spoke from behind him.

Doctor Finklestein looked over his shoulder to see the recently discovered human smiling brightly at him.

"Amelia! Jack! Oh thank goodness you're back!" The Mayor cried as his face switched to his "happy" expression.

"Well of course!" she put her hands on her hips, "What's Halloween without its King and Queen?" she raised an eyebrow for emphasis.

"Right!" The Mayor agreed, "Well, why are we standing around? The show must go on!"

The royals and the elected official cheered and began to make their way to the center of town square. But the queen stopped and turned when she felt something tug on her sleeve.

"Amelia," The scientist addressed her, "I would like to formally apologize for my actions. I admit that I stepped out of line and I ask for your forgiveness."

She could tell that it took all of his willpower to say that too her and she couldn't help but honor his request.

"I would feel absolutely _terrific_ if I didn't accept such an admirable apology." She beamed happily using her fluent Halloween speak.

"Thank you my dear, and also I must add, I realize now what an honor it is to have you as the Pumpkin Queen." He said with slightly a little more ease than stating his regret, but only slightly.

"Wow, thank you so much Doctor! Oh, and I'm using normal words there." She laughed lightly. They made their way to the square along with the others.

Close to the edge of the square was a long platform, the sides of it were adorned with an assortment of Halloween decorations. Amelia and Jack made their way up onto the platform and she took center stage to address the audience while he remained off to the side to give her the spotlight.

"Hello my _horrible_ citizens of Halloween Town!" she stated to catch everyone's attention. "Welcome to the beginning of the rest of this most _awful_ celebration! But first off, I would like to apologize to everyone for keeping my secret from you for so long. I know that now we see eye to eye and I can most certainly understand your reaction. I ask for you to give me a chance because I honestly believe I can be a great leader of this most _terrible_ holiday, but I cannot do it unless you want me to. My job as Queen is to make sure that you, the citizens of Halloween Town, are _unhappy_ and that your holiday is the way you want it to be. You are the ones who are in control and it is my duty to serve you. Will you welcome me back as the heir to the throne?"

A loud uproar of cheers and screams came from the audience. Amelia beamed with joy and her heart swelled with relief. She had never been more grateful in her life.

"Well then, without further ado, let the masquerade begin!" she declared and the music started to play.

The Queen for the day walked to the end of the stage where she let Jack take her hand and help her down the steps like the true gentleman he was. But when she thought he would release his hold, he didn't. She turned to look at him with slightly puzzled expression.

"Amelia," he began, "about that condition I had…"

* * *

**Oooh, how cruel! Yet another cliff-hanger from the infamous Mystic! **

**Well on another note, I ask for the opinion of you readers. The section that describes Amelia's show of power in the graveyard, well I don't think I did a good job with it. I would appriciate any constructive criticism you guys have! I would re-write it but that would require me replacing the chapter and it would delete the reviews...and I don't want to do that! I may put the revised version in the beginning of the next chapter if you guys think it needs to be changed. Thanks so much so please reveiw! I could use the help! **


	21. The Masquerade

**Phew! After who _knows_ how long it's been, I'm finally able to update!!!!!!!!!!! **

**Ok, for all of you who are like "What the heck happened!? It's WAY past your normal update-every-two-weeks deadline!" Give me a chance to explain...**

**My dang charger for my laptop broke =( Stupid cheap thing...anway, I have to save what little battery I have left on my computer for homework and junk like that. On rare occasions I was able to type some before my laptop died *cries* And my school is too cheap to replace my charger so I have to order a new one myself which could take a while. Yeah, our laptops are provided by the school along with chargers but the company we get our stuff from went bankrupt so we're screwed for the moment. But I must give a big thank you to all of my friends who've let me borrow their chargers for weekends and stuff. Especially my friend WHO I AM FOREVER IN DEBTED TO Kaitlyn! She let me borrow her charger today because she didn't need it and understood the pain of not being able to write. So it's because of her that I was able to even finish it!! **

**Ok, now that my ranting and raving is over...please enjoy the chapter! Or at least those of you who bothered to read my long explanation...heh heh sorry about that...ON WITH THE STORY!!!**

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"Oh yeah…that…" Amelia avoided eye contact with the sharply dressed skeleton before her. She had kind of hoped that he would be able to keep his promise but forget about the "condition" for she feared it would be something embarrassing just to get back at her.

"I would like…" he moved one foot forward and raised her hand still in his bony, yet gentle grasp, "a dance." He beamed.

"Wha!?" something so simple as dancing was not what she expected. "M-me?" she pointed to herself with her free hand in disbelief. A light pink blush splashed across her cheeks.

"Yes you." He chuckled, "This is your end of the deal remember?" he arched a would-be eyebrow and smiled.

"Ah, well g-good point." She nodded and let him lead her out into the middle of the square.

As soon as they stood in the beginning dance position, the mood of the music changed and it flowed to a smooth, almost lulling tempo. Jack and Amelia began to dance the classic waltz, thankfully the one she knew. Many of the other citizens followed their example so they paired up and began to move in time to the music as well.

But to Amelia, they all seemed a mile away.

Despite her nerves, her gaze wasn't transfixed on her feet to avoid stumbling, but on his kind, serene eyes. With him, she seemed to just _know_ the steps and didn't have to struggle to remember. Even more, there seemed to be an air of familiarity as the music played and they danced perfectly in time. A soft smile graced her lips as a wonderful, overwhelming sense of happiness surrounded her. She felt as though she needn't have a care in the world and all that mattered was just this one, single moment in time that all of her problems seemed to just disappear. They simply faded away for she was with the person she cared for the most. She felt completely at ease even as he brought her in close and she felt as though she were walking on air whenever he spun her around. She wanted it to last forever, but he led her close to him one last time and the song ended. But the dream-like moment abruptly came to a halt as sorceress was snapped back to reality when she heard applause all around them.

They turned their heads and stepped back to see that the citizens had formed a circle around them sometime during their performance and now were clapping enthusiastically. There were even a few shouts and cheers among the crowd. Apparently, this was much as a surprise to Jack as it was to Amelia for it seemed that he too hadn't noticed them until just then. She flushed a little, embarrassed about her forgetfulness, but then he took her hand and they gave a bow to their audience.

Her heart was still racing and her mind still tried to grasp the thought that what had just happened did in fact happen.

'I just danced with Jack…I just danced with Jack!' she repeated disbelievingly over and over in her mind until an odd thought struck her. 'I swear this has happened before! The music, Jack and I, the waltz, it all seems so _familiar_…but why? Why do I feel this way?'

Little did she know that the music would have offered a big clue had she listened more carefully to its dream-like sound.

She was still in a slight daze and obediently let him lead her off the square to sit down on the ledge of the fountain of eerie green water with the grotesque monster statue. She was rather thankful for the break for it would give her still racing heart time to slow down and time to breathe. However, the precious, if slightly awkward, silence between them didn't last very long.

"Amelia, I'm glad that you will be staying as the heir, _relieved_ even." Jack beamed at her before he continued. "But there's just one last thing I want you to know."

He really sparked her curiosity and she couldn't help but keep her gaze transfixed on him.

"I named you as the one to inherit the throne for a reason." He began, "It's because six years ago, I saw something in you that I hadn't seen in any other person before."

"What was it?" she asked, slightly confused but listened intently.

"A _leader_." His eyes held their familiar warmth, "A _true_ born leader. One whom I knew I could trust Halloween Town with. Not only that, but you proved it as well. You saved all of Halloween, including me for that matter." He chuckled. "You did so with the courage and boldness only someone with real potential as a leader would have."

She looked down at her hands in her lap for a moment as a soft, yet sad expression came across her features.

"Maybe…but let's not forget I was the cause of that disaster six years ago." She then looked up to him, her sadness replaced with that of seriousness. "Why did you entrust this town, this entire holiday, to _me_ after that?"

"Like I said, I saw the future ruler of Halloween Town within you even before you could, especially when you _saved_ us all from disaster." He grinned, "Besides, you've proved yourself more than worthy yet again over these past few months. To pull all of this off within such a short amount of time tells me that you care for these wonderful citizens, this wonderful place, just as much as I do." He laughed a little, "If not more!"

"Wow," she blushed a little but smiled at his compliment, "and here I thought that I was just trying to prove to myself that I wouldn't be a big screw up. Which, I guess, sort of happened huh?" she giggled then rested her hands on the cool stone of the fountain's ledge as she thought about how grateful she was to the townspeople for accepting her back.

"Well yeah sort of." He chuckled again. "But here we are now and everything is just fine."

He lifted his hand, but hesitated a moment before placing it over hers, causing her to blush bright red even though he intended it as a friendly gesture.

"There is no one else I would rather have as the future Queen of Halloween." He calmly spoke.

A little flustered, though she tried to hide it, she turned her head and glanced at his hand gently holding hers then looked up at him. He simply smiled his familiar, kind smile and she couldn't help but return it with one of her own as well.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack noticed a figure approaching them so he discreetly removed his hand from hers to avoid any unneeded false accusations.

"May I be so honored with the privilege to dance with the princess?" a low masculine voice asked.

Amelia turned her head and looked up to see Alucard standing before her, his hand kindly offered to her, patiently waiting for her reply. A soft smile upon his lips and his crimson eyes seemed to have a faint eerie glow about them as his gaze seemed to burn into her very soul.

The Princess of Halloween quickly stole a glance at the Pumpkin King next to her before turning back to the waiting vampire. She delicately placed her hand in his and gave a kind smile with a curt nod as her answer.

The corners of Alucard's mouth curved into a near-smirk and his fine, sharp fangs were revealed. But it was only for a brief moment for he turned his head away to guide her out into the square. They took up the first position and the music began to start, everyone dancing in time. But the young sorceress couldn't help but notice something different. The mood set off by the music seemed darker than the last song, but considering it was Halloween that shouldn't have been a surprise. As she looked up into his crimson eyes she expected to feel some form of attraction considering she had still yet to break up with him. But she felt nothing. It seemed as though his eyes no longer captivated her like they once had. His deep baritone voice no longer made her swoon. His devilishly handsome face didn't make her cheeks heat up by simply looking at him like they had so much before. She wasn't dancing with her vampire boyfriend. No, she was dancing with an attractive vampire named Alucard whom she was now certain she no longer felt anything for.

"Is something wrong my dear?" he asked with genuine concern, a heartfelt expression crossed his features.

"Oh, it's nothing really. Just hoping that I don't do anything to cause another screw up." She said a little glumly, though it wasn't the real reason for her troubles.

"Honestly I never would have guessed that you were human." He said with a grin, trying to cheer her up.

"Yeah, that wasn't exactly the way I pictured everyone finding out." She laughed sheepishly.

"Well you're not just a mere mortal you know. You have real sorcery in your blood that you inherited." He pointed out.

"But I was still a human before I was ever a sorceress." She stated.

"True, but I think you've convinced everyone here that you are much more than that. You are going to make a fine Queen one day." He smiled at her, his eyes soft as he gazed into her cerulean orbs.

"Thank you. You have no idea what a relief that is to know that at least _someone_ has faith in my abilities where I clearly do not." She laughed lightly at her own joke.

"Oh, come on now Amelia." He stated, though he had to stifle a laugh, "You know that's not true. All the people of Halloween Town believe in you or else Dr. Finklestein would have had his way and you would be walking home right now never to return."

"Ok I'll give you that one." She rolled her eyes and giggled.

'Hmm…something just isn't right.' A curious skeleton mentally asked himself as he watched the vampire and the sorceress. He arched a would-be eyebrow as he took notice of their expressions.

Alucard had that same look he always gave Amelia whenever they were together. Not love-struck per se, but his affections were definitely as strong as ever toward the young heir. Said princess certainly felt anything _but_ the same. She didn't look him in the eye unless she was talking to him or if he spoke to her. Her mind seemed to be somewhere else like there was something truly bothering her. That was when it finally clicked.

'Well, well, well. It looks as though Amelia has _still_ yet to break the heart of _that_ vampire.' Jack thought as he crossed his arms, a little irked at the fact.

Since Alucard is technically her first relationship, he didn't blame her for putting it off. But not doing so for as long as she has been, well it was too long of a wait by Jack's standards. He debated whether or not to cut in so he could talk to her. It honestly was something that he shouldn't be involved in but there was still something about the vampire he didn't trust at all.

'I'm her friend, not her father.' He told himself, 'The most I can do is talk to her about it later. I really shouldn't intervene with something like this anyway.' He heaved a deep sigh, having finally made up his mind.

But also to his relief, the song ended and the dancers were applauding the musicians. Jack decided to take the opportunity to at least speak to her about it, but that plan was soon foiled.

"Jack, could I have the next dance?" the taller of the witch sisters had walked up to him.

"Hey, you said you would after me!" the shorter witch appeared, glaring angrily at her sister.

"I believe I have the pleasure." The swamp monster cut in, side-stepping the bickering two.

"No me!"

"I called the next one!"

"Hey no fair!"

"I get to dance with him!"

"No way, I do!"

"Me first!"

Before he knew it, the poor Pumpkin King was surrounded by nearly every female in Halloween Town about ready to throttle each other. He put his head in his hand and heaved an exasperated sigh. This was going to take a while.

Amelia laughed at the distraught skeleton. She and Alucard had walked off the square to make way for the other dancers. She couldn't believe how ridiculous the women were all being and just over whom would get to dance with him next.

"Does that always happen?" the vampire next to her asked with a chuckle.

"You'd be surprised." A higher pitched masculine voice piped in.

The two teenagers turned their heads to see the Mayor, who had apparently just walked up to them and overheard the conversation.

"He is a bachelor and probably the most sought after in Halloween Town." He laughed, "It happens every year, but normally not over a dance. They usually crowd around the poor guy over-complimenting his performance in the annual celebration to the point he practically has to run and hide to escape them."

"Oh so you're not _jealous_ at all Mr. Mayor?" Amelia teased.

"Honestly, I would _not_ want to be in his shoes right now." The elected official chuckled. "Though I am glad that he hasn't taken a liking to any of them." His face switched to his worried side, "If he ever got into a relationship, it would mean disaster for Halloween!"

Both Alucard and Amelia gave him strange looks but it was the sorceress who spoke aloud their thoughts.

"Why on earth do you say that?" she asked putting her hands on her hips, a little surprised by the peculiar statement.

"Just think about it for a moment." The Mayor began, "He would be so distracted, he would hardly even _think_ about our horrible holiday, let alone all of the necessary preparations and the tight schedule he has to keep!"

"Well, I see your point." The let her arms relax at her sides.

"But our princess here has managed just fine," Alucard took her hand and smiled, "and she did so in less than a quarter of the time." He said to her more than he did the stout man next to them.

"True that may be, but I still stand by my opinion." The Mayor's face switched back to his happy expression, "Well it looks like he finally chose someone to get away from the mob."

The other two look over and sure enough there was the sharply dressed Jack in the center of the square dancing with the swamp monster. He was obviously very reluctant but she didn't seem to notice, or she simply didn't care because she was at the receiving end of many jealous glares from the other girls which seemed to delight her to no end.

"Amelia, forgive me but I kept forgetting all about your birthday present." Alucard spoke, "Would you mind accepting it now, even though it's quite belated."

"Oh it's only ten days." Amelia joked, "Of course I'll accept it!"

"Wonderful to hear, come with me." The handsome vampire gave a light tug on her hand and began leading her away from the square.

The young sorceress was extremely wary about following him alone so she made sure to be on guard as they headed to the far side of town. Though she really doubted he would do anything to harm her. Not to mention it would give her the opportunity she needed to finally keep her promise and break up with him.

But just _what_ was the handsome vampire up to?

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**Well I must certainly say that this was one of my personal favorite chapters simply because I torture Jack by having him mobbed by fangirls!! XD But yes I know a lot of you were looking forward to the masquerade chapter and I hope it met your standards! I worked hard on it believe me!! Well, please review and don't kill me!!! I got enough death threats as it is from not updating *cries* give me a break! I'm doing the best I can, honestly!!! **

**Review and that will make my day, thank you so much! **


	22. Alucard's True Intentions

**Merry Christmas everyone!!! My present to all of my fabulous readers is an update on Christmas Eve! *Thunderous applause* Thank you, thank you. Lol! Well this chapter is actually a two-parter again because it was just too long to make just one chapter. But I came up with good titles for both parts so that's why it doesn't appear as "Part 1" in the title. **

**Well you all better be prepared to be on the edge of your seats because this is the beginning of the most _suspenseful_ part of the story! Enjoy!~**

* * *

Amelia became more and more precautious as they approached his house on the edge of town. She had a couple of spells in mind just in case she needed them. Even more in her favor, the full moon was still high in the sky which meant she was stronger than ever. If Alucard even dared to try anything, he had another thing coming. With that small comfort in mind, though still alert, she followed him inside.

They were in the small living room when he turned around and said, "Wait here." and walked off into another room.

She heaved a small sigh of relief and shifted her weight from one foot to the other, just a little bit edgy. Who wouldn't be eager to receive a present?

Alucard soon returned with his hands behind his back and a cool, though slightly mischievous smirk.

"Close your eyes and hold out your hands." He instructed.

She did as she was told, and then felt something placed in her palms.

"Ok, open them." A hint of anticipation laced his voice.

She did and found in her grasp was a small rectangular, purple velvet box. She glanced at him as if to ask if it was alright to see what was inside. He gave a curt nod, obviously wishing she would have just opened it already. She gently lifted the lid and inside resting gently on an ivory colored silk cloth was a rose bracelet. It was made of silver and tinted with the slightest shade of red. With a gasp in awe, she lifted it up and it shimmered radiantly in the light.

"Oh my gosh…it's beautiful!" she spoke still amazed at the stunning gift. "Thank you so much Alucard." She said with gratitude filling her eyes.

"I thought you might like it," he grinned, satisfied with her reaction. "Here, allow me."

He took the bracelet carefully in his grasp, as though it would shatter into a thousand pieces if he made just one sudden movement, and tenderly clasped it around her wrist. She admired the piece of jewelry and felt that it was almost too perfect for her to accept.

But then the silver roses' red tint began to glow brighter, almost sinister-like.

"What the?" she took a step back in confusion.

Then she heard a low, growling sound and looked up to see Alucard with his head down as his strange sound increased to be a sort of maniacal laughter. Suddenly, the door locked behind her on its own, windows slammed shut, and the clicks of several locks echoed throughout the house.

"Alucard?" she paused, her eyes stricken with fear, "What's going on?" Though frightened, she took a fighting stance to prepare to launch an attack if need be.

"And here I thought you were a _smart_ girl, Amelia." He lifted his head to meet her nervous gaze.

Her eyes widened at his appearance. His face was twisted into a sinister grin and his crimson eyes were glowing blood red. He looked as though he had gone completely mad!

"But I see now how incredibly _foolish_ you really are!" he quickly tried to reach toward her, but immediately saw that she was about to shout out a defensive spell.

He then sliced the air with his hand as though it were a blade, causing her arms to be unwillingly held tight at her sides, almost as if some invisible rope had suddenly bound itself around her.

"What the!? I can't move!" she exclaimed in panic.

"Such a stupid girl, you don't recognize a trap even when you've walked right into one!" he pointed to her wrist with the glowing bracelet, "_I_ control _you_ now."

"Alucard, why are you doing this!?" she pleaded for an answer as she tried to move her hands for what little hope she had of escaping.

"You still don't get it do you?" he walked up to her and roughly grabbed her chin to force her to keep her gaze on him. "It's the first night of the full moon since your powers have been fully awakened. You are at your strongest this night and will never be again until you've become a master sorceress. Well I simply cannot wait for that day to come for I need a powerful spell caster _now_ to free me from this accursed prison that I've been trapped in for nearly two centuries! And _you_ are going to be the one to do it, for you have no choice."

"Help! Help! Somebody! Please help—" her cries were cut off when his hand clamped over her mouth.

"Your feeble shouts will get you nowhere!" he yelled, but then a smirk spread across his face. "For you see, I happened to acquire a rather _useful_ item recently." He brought out a familiar looking brown book with the green gem in the center surrounded by a circle of diamonds.

"My spell book!" she realized and her eyes widened. 'So that's why I couldn't find it.' She thought bitterly, 'He _stole_ it!'

"Correct my dear." he taunted. "I have gained some very useful knowledge from this seemingly silly little book. For example, my entire house is covered by a sound-proof barrier to make sure that your _precious_ Pumpkin King doesn't hear your distress, so he can't come rescue you." He moved his hand away from her face, "And it's also how I was able to curse that bracelet of yours. You were just foolish enough to accept it." He chuckled darkly.

"_Oohhh_," she growled and glared daggers at him while struggling to move her other hand to yank the piece of jewelry off. "You'll be _so_ sorry you ever messed with me! Just wait till I—"

"Till you what?" he laughed, "Till you manage to break free? Not likely, _I _cast the spell. _I_ put the bracelet on you. Only _I_ can take it off."

"How the heck were you able to do that anyway!?" though angry, she was in disbelief he had such abilities.

"What? You think you're the only one with magic powers? Ha! You honestly know nothing about sorcery." He retorted. "Those little _fairy-tales_ about vampires is your only knowledge about them I'm sure. Well you have a lot to learn." He said mockingly. "But there is simply no time, for time is beginning to run out." He then glared at her. "Apparently you still aren't getting it. I have a spell for you to cast that will free my true form and restore my full powers so I may regain what is rightfully mine."

"Wha-what!?" she became stricken with fear and panic all over again, but this time much worse. "No! You can't make me! I won't!" she protested.

"Oh yes you will." he then pointed to the door of one of the rooms. "Now go inside."

A strange electric shock ran through her body and she began to walk toward the door obediently like a dog, though her mind was practically shouting at her feet to run in the opposite direction. The vampire crossed his arms and smirked in triumph as he followed behind her. Amelia felt her body suddenly stop moving when she reached the center of the dark room with the only light being the moon's that poured in through a single window. In front of her was a large, black cauldron that gleamed in the pale light. Against the walls either side of her were massive bookshelves and small cupboards. There was a table next to the cauldron and set on it were several candles.

Reluctantly, the sorceress raised her hand in the air and the candles were lifted up to form a circle around her. She blinked her eyes once and all of them suddenly became lit. Alucard stood outside the ring of light with her spell book still in his grasp. But he willingly let it slip out of his hold as it flew over to where Amelia stood so she could await further instruction.

"Turn to the _Cursed Seals_ section." He spoke firmly.

The sorceress felt the strange shock jolt her body again, which forced her to wave her hand and the book turned to the correct chapter.

"Now, find the _Soul Release_ spell." He ordered.

Again, she obediently followed as the pages turned on their own accord yet again to the appropriate passage.

"I've never seen such a complicated spell!" Her eyes widened in surprise, "It would take a master sorcerer to perform it."

"Must I remind you?" the vampire crossed his arms irritably. "This is the night when you are your strongest. You are the equivalent of a master and will never be again until you actually become one. I simply don't have that kind of patience to wait for that to happen when I've been trapped for practically two centuries. You are now probably the most powerful sorceress alive so thus only you can cast it."

"But for me to do this, it's going to take time for me to get it right!" she looked at him with pleading eyes, "Why do you want to release your soul anyway? You are obviously exceptionally strong just as you are!"

"I am no where _near_ the strength I once possessed. So quit making excuses and get to work!" he yelled.

'I don't want to do this…but I have no choice…' she thought in deep grief as she stared at her feet. 'Why did I let it get this far? I really am an idiot for falling for such obvious tricks.'

A single tear slid down her cheek as the electric shock ran throughout her body. She raised her hands and several different ingredients were levitated out of the cupboards.

"Don't even dare try to cook up another spell because I've studied this one and know it like the back of my hand." Alucard growled bitterly, "If you slip something in there, I'll know immediately and you don't want to be punished now do you?"

She solemnly shook her head no and got to work. The ingredients were simple enough, but it was the extremely detailed procedure was the difficult part. If things were not added to the concoction in the correct order, in the exact amount, then the whole thing would be ruined.

'There's got to be a way I can stop him, but how?' she pondered to herself, though still focused on the task at hand. 'I can't change the potion so what can I do?'

She looked in her spell book as though she was finding the next ingredient when in fact she was reading what the spell was meant to do.

'Ok, so normally this is used to reverse the Soul Sealing spell, which impairs the victim's strength.' she mentally stated. 'So if the Soul Release spell does what it's supposed to do, then Alucard's powers will increase ten fold! But that also means, so do his weaknesses.' She concluded. 'If I remember correctly, vampires have heightened senses, nearly one hundred times better than that of the average human. So that means…Yes! Yes! That just might work!'

She made sure to hide her triumph in her expression so as to not let Alucard know that she had a plan.

'But I'll have to wait until after this transformation is complete. I just hope it works…' she became even more determined to finish the spell.

After several minutes, she finally had everything in and the potion was finally ready. Amelia let her hands fall down to her side as she let out a deep breath of relief. But it only lasted a moment for she knew that it was only the potion she completed. She still had the rest of the incantation to perform and could only hope that everything was going to go right.

"_Excellent_." Alucard smirked with satisfaction.

He walked around the circle of candles that still levitated in the air and stood in front of the window. With the moon's light hitting his back, he looked like nothing but a dark shadow.

"Begin." He commanded.

--

'I've danced with I-don't-know-how-many women. I am taking a break!' Jack thought as he crossed his arms with a not-so pleasant expression.

He strode away rather quickly from the center of the square to avoid the fan girl monsters who had refused to leave him alone. But as he walked, he noticed that there was something missing. Or the fact that _someone_ was, to be more precise.

"Amelia?" he asked aloud and looked around for the teenaged sorceress.

He turned back around to see if she had gone onto the square to dance with someone but he did not see the familiar looking dark blonde-haired girl with the ocean blue eyes among the crowd. But then he caught sight a person who might know where she had run off to.

"Mayor!" Jack called as he briskly walked toward the stout man with the tall top hat.

"Oh Jack!" the elected official turned to the king with his face turned to his "happy" expression, "Good to see that you're a free man again."

"No kidding." The sharply dressed skeleton retorted dryly. "But that's beside the point," he waved his hand for emphasis, "By any chance have you seen Amelia?"

"Yes I did see her a while ago." He answered, much to the delight of the Pumpkin King, "But she left with Alucard. He said something about a belated birthday present that he wanted to give her and they headed off in the direction of his residence I assume." The Mayor scratched his head as he recalled the brief memory.

Jack's face fell and, for a moment, looked rather furious but he regained his cool and stood a little taller.

"Thank you Mayor." And with that, he walked off with a quick stride in the direction of the vampire's dwelling.

But just as he was about to pass the fountain with the monster statue, he stopped. A thought had occurred to him.

'What if it really is something as harmless as what the Mayor said?' he mentally asked himself as he looked down at his feet and debated with himself. 'What if she's using the opportunity to finally break up with him? But what if she's really in trouble? What if she's not? Would I be barging in on something that I really should stay out of?'

He let out a groan of frustration and sat on the fountain's ledge. He heaved a depressed sigh and continued to ask himself questions that he could not possibly answer.

"_Jack_." A voice whispered.

"Huh?" he was snapped out of his thoughts and looked around for whom had possibly spoken to him.

"_Jack_!" the voice called louder this time, and he could tell it was distinctly feminine. The tone even sounded vaguely familiar.

He looked around again frantically as he stood up trying to locate the source of the mysterious sound.

"Down here!"

Her call had rung out loud and clear in his ears this time. He spun on his heel to face the fountain and peered into its murky green waters. The face that appeared on its surface took him greatly by surprise that he nearly stumbled backwards from shock.

"_Elizabeth_!?"

* * *

**I belive this would be the perfect "Dun, dun, duuuunnnn!" moment. **

**Will Amelia be able to escape Alucard's clutches? Will Jack figure out what's really going on in time? OMG Elizabeth reappeared!!?? What on earth is going to happen next!? **

**And a very Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays from yours truly! **


	23. Alucard's True Identity

**Surprise! An early update! Yes the demands were great enough, and I got all of the reviews from my regular readers, that I decided to go ahead and update! :D And THIS chapter is going to be THE BEST one yet! (In my opinion at least) Not to mention it's the longest too...see? Another present for you guys! I'm spoiling you too much. **

**But yes, Even I was really excited about this chapter so I really hope all of you enjoy it! **

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The sorceress slowly lifted her arms and an eerie red fog rose out of the black cauldron.

"_Redimio is somes en obscurum._" She spoke softly.

Her eyes focused on the crimson wisps of smoke and she started to struggle to keep control. A bead of sweat slid down the side of her face but she didn't break her concentration. The fog stretched out like sinister arms, which then slowly encircled the vampire until he was completely cloaked in the red smoke. She could no longer see his silhouette and knew it was time for the next step. Her fingers bent into claw-like forms and she levitated Alucard into the air, still surrounded by the crimson colored smoke.

"_Atrer animus solvo!_" She shouted as she stretched out her hands.

Suddenly, the fog appeared to become more solid and took a tall man's form. The smoke turned as black as the night sky and grew larger until the form was an ethereal floating sphere.

Amelia let out a groan of pain from the amount of concentration and focus required. She was using all of her power just to perform the ritual and she was nearly out of energy. But she was determined to go through with it so she would be able to put her own plan into action.

The black orb abruptly burst open and a swarm of bats flew out, circling around where the vampire stood. A deep, menacing cackle was heard and the bats scattered as they flew out of the room. Alucard was now taller, older, and stronger, _much_ stronger. He levitated on his own and smirked with satisfaction as he watched the exhausted sorceress collapse onto her knees, almost ready to pass out. The candles fell with many thuds on the ground for there was nothing to hold them up in the air any longer. The newly awakened vampire landed with a soft tap on the ground and walked toward her.

"You are powerful Amelia." He spoke, his voice now deeper than it used to be. "You are definitely one of the strongest Armonias I've seen in centuries."

Weakly, she lifted her head to meet his gaze. She would have blushed at the sight of his handsome face if it weren't for the fact that she knew he was still twisted with nothing but evil in his black heart. He waved his hand in a gesture for her to get up. Unwillingly, she obeyed, staggering to her feet for the glowing rose bracelet still on her wrist kept his control over her.

"I must admit, the façade of I being attracted to you wasn't entirely a lie." He gently grasped her chin. His crimson eyes glowed and she could feel his power of his hypnosis trying to take its hold. "Honestly, I probably would've made you one of my brides if it weren't for one little detail."

Her eyes widened in shock and confusion. 'One of his _brides_!?' she shouted mentally. But then, a thought dawned on her.

"Just who are you, really?" she asked as sternly as she could in her weary state.

"Ah, so you are a bright girl after all." He smirked, flashing his long sharp fangs. "Though the fact you haven't figured out just _who_ I am yet is rather disappointing."

He let go of her as he took a step back and punched the air toward the wall, a blaze of fire shot out of his fist. On the wall, written in flames, was his name. ALUCARD DORAM LIO. He then waved his hand once and the letters rearranged themselves to spell…

**I AM LORD DRACULA**

"Wha-What!?" she hastily backed away from him in absolute disbelief, stricken with pure terror.

He let out another deep sinister laugh and turned toward her.

"_Alucard_? _Dracula_? It's quite obvious you know." He again chuckled darkly. "Oh yes, I would have loved to make you my bride had it not been for the little fact that you must _die_!"

Amelia couldn't even speak from the shock. She shook her head as tears began to flow down her cheeks. The vampire coolly began to walk toward her and she took a step back for each of his advances.

"No…no…no…" she breathed in mortal fear, which increased ten fold when she backed into the wall behind her, Dracula directly in front of her. She was trapped.

"Why!? Why must I die!?" though still in absolute terror, she demanded an answer.

"In order for the transformation to stay stable, I must drain the soul of the spell caster." He stated simply.

"I still don't understand. Why was your soul sealed away in the first place?" she asked, trying to prolong her impending demise.

"Well, considering you don't have much time left to live," he pondered, "I might as well tell you the story. And quite an interesting one it is."

_It was in the early hours of the morning one winter, the beginning day of Christmas Eve. A young girl in a black and white stripped, long-sleeved dress walked across the snow covered cemetery and knelt down in front of a newly carved headstone. She held her hands in prayer as a single tear slid down her cheek, rosy from the cold. _

"_Mother…" she muttered quietly, deep in mourn. _

_A tall man appeared out of the shadows from underneath a weeping willow tree, near the daughter of the dearly departed. Her head turned to face him and for a brief moment, her face lit up with happiness but soon fell back into grief, the pain of a loved one's death still in her heart. _

"_It's you." The girl breathed. "You startled me." _

"_My apologies mademoiselle." he smiled but then spoke with concern, "What are you doing here so late at night?"_

"_My beloved mother." She answered, "I miss her greatly…and I just had to see her." She clasped her hands together again as if to silently say a prayer in respect._

"_Come here my dearest." He said, to which she complied. She threw her arms around him in a needed embrace, his arms wrapped around her small figure. _

"_You need not be afraid, my dear." He calmly spoke, comforting her in her distraught state. "It will be alright, I promise you." _

"_Thank you…" she hugged him tighter as she rested her head on his shoulder, "my love." _

"_Of course," he moved his hands to grasp her arms, "for you will see her soon." _

_She gasped and let out a shriek of pain as he sunk his teeth into her neck, draining her life. She fell limp in his arms and just as it seemed she was about to die, weakly she managed to mumble something. _

"Animus…signum…lux lucis_…"_

_The man suddenly felt a burning sensation all over his body and immediately knew what had just happened. She had put a curse on him. He released his hold on her and threw her down to the ground where she collapsed on top of her mother's grave. He let out a yelp of pain as his body began to glow a bright white. The light soon enveloped his body and then began to dim, taking the form of a younger boy. The magic completely died away and the man now had the appearance of a teenager. He looked at his hands with fear-stricken eyes. Most of his powers had been drained and he could tell that he was in the body of a lesser vampire. He cursed under his breath and took off into the distance, leaving the girl behind to suffer until death finally claimed her. _

"It was you…" Amelia spoke in shock. "You killed Elizabeth!"

"Yes it was I, and how suiting the Armonia after her shall die at my hands as well." He snickered, actually amused by the irony. "Of course, I did plan it from the beginning." When he received a puzzled expression from the captive sorceress, he decided to explain.

"You see, the moment I met you Amelia, I knew you were related to that very same girl who cursed me. You look so much like her it's uncanny really." He smirked as he grasped her chin, "But I knew being her blood relative, disguised as a sorceress, and being gifted with a beautiful voice obviously meant that you were the next Armonia. The very kind I needed to release my true form so that I may return to my former glory."

'So she _was_ the Armonia before me.' Amelia would have been happy that she finally found out if it weren't for her current situation.

"Though, I still never would have guessed that I would get to take the lives of _two_ related Armonias in my lifetime. And even more to my own pleasure, I get to see the infamous Jack Skellington crumble twice at the loss of someone close to his heart." He laughed, "It couldn't have turned out more perfect!"

"What!? You knew him when he was alive? Wait…What _are_ you implying!?" she had the feeling he had suspected more than just friendship between her and the skeleton man.

"Oh of course I knew him! He was the heir to his father's massive fortune and everyone knew the Skellington name. Also, he was incredibly smitten with the lovely Elizabeth Brave. But this time, it's the other way around isn't it?" he sneered as he let go of her and crossed his arms, "Don't play dumb. I've known how you _really_ feel toward that pathetic excuse of a king for some time now, and that I was _merely_ a tool to banish such _unnecessary_ thoughts on your part."

She would have denied such an accusation, but her pulse began to race and her face became flushed. She knew deep in her heart that it was true, no matter how much she didn't want it to be. Instead, she looked down at her feet and tried to prevent the tears that threaten to fall cascade down her cheeks.

"Oh? No come back? What's the matter Amelia? Not _brave_ enough? No? No more fight left in you?" he taunted, "Well I had certainly hoped there would be. You're much more fun when you're angry." He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned in closer to where she could feel his hot breath on her face.

She clenched her hand from anger and with the other, brought it up and slapped him hard across his face. Dracula released his hold on her as he stumbled backward from the force then glared angrily at her.

"You foul little wretch!" he shouted furiously and balled his hands into fists.

She tried to run but he commanded her to stop and the bracelet sent the familiar shock through her which forced her to do as she was told. He tightly gripped her shoulder with one hand and roughly shoved her back up against the wall. She clenched her teeth from the pain that shot up her spine, but she refused to show weakness anymore.

"You made me let my guard down. _Ohh_, you are a sneaky one." He grabbed her chin again and forced her to meet his heated gaze. "I'm through playing games! Tell your precious world goodbye for you will be with Elizabeth _very_ soon."

Amelia glared back and she knew it was finally time to put her own plan into action.

--

"I-is it really you?" Jack asked, still in disbelief that he was staring into the face of his deceased dearly beloved.

"Jack, you must listen to me!" Elizabeth said with fear-stricken eyes. "Amelia is in danger!"

"What!?" he leaned back a little in shock.

"Alucard, he is not who he says he is! If you don't find her soon, she will suffer the same fate I did!" she cried.

"Not who he…the same _fate_!?" so many questions buzzed in his head but he knew to focus on what mattered the most.

"Where is she now!?" he demanded with a firm voice.

The ghost closed her eyes and her image was replaced with a house toward the edge of town, then the inside. There was Amelia being pinned against the wall by an older looking Alucard, obviously trapping her against her will.

"No! Amelia!" Jack shouted in fear, but then it quickly turned into anger for his assumption about the vampire was worse than he originally thought.

Suddenly, he heard a loud high-pitched scream ring through the air. He looked in the direction that it came from, but no one else in the crowd seemed to notice. It was as if nothing happened.

"Go Jack! Hurry!" Elizabeth shouted as her image reappeared in the water.

He took off sprinting to where his dear friend was being held captive.

--

Being a classically trained singer, Amelia knew that she could control the pitch of an ear-splitting scream that would be just enough to impair a vampire. Since Dracula's full powers were restored, so were his heightened senses like hearing, which were much more acute than that of the average human.

Sure enough, he had to back away from her and cover his ears to block the sound. He let out a strained, loud grown of pain and she knew her plan was working. Her shriek was sure to leave him defenseless, if only for a moment but maybe just enough so she could escape.

The sorceress ran out of the room and toward the front door.

'Yes! I can get out of here!' she ran as fast as her legs could carry her, but then she abruptly came to a halt.

Dracula had appeared in front of her, blocking her exit.

"No sound shall ever come out of your mouth again!" he declared angrily with burning eyes as he gripped her wrists to keep her from running again.

Amelia felt the familiar electric shock course throughout her body again and she winced in pain as she was forced to follow his order. He then slammed her against the wall, intending to hurt her and keep her there.

"Now hold still." He demanded, thus she had no choice but to obey once again.

He leaned down to her neck, hissed in her ear as he barred his fangs. She tightly shut her eyes and braced for the pain death to take her life away. But she did not fear him for she was too angry at what he did to Elizabeth, and now about to do the same to her. However, time seemed to suddenly come to a stand still for the captive sorceress.

They say that when you're about to die, your entire life flashes before your eyes. But for Amelia, it was only a certain part of her life.

She saw herself as a nine year-old when she first discovered Halloween Town. The same night she met Jack and overtime became her best friend. When she first began to learn sorcery from him, and the time he had given her the teddy bear to help her sleep when she had a horrible nightmare. She remembered when he sang to her, and how his lulling voice calmed her. Then next was when she saved Halloween Town from being ruled by the notorious Oogie Boogie.

More vividly, she remembered when she returned that summer and was put in charge of the Halloween celebration. Then came the dream of her dancing with Jack in the mirror room, as well as when Jack saved her from falling off the bookshelf, landing in his arms. Again she recalled his smooth, musical voice during the "accidental" duet with him when she found the piano. The night of her birthday came to mind, when he gave her the music box and the necklace that now hung around her neck, which she loved dearly. Finally, her most recent memory, her dance with Jack and how it felt to just be near him, to _be_ with him. How she had felt so safe, at peace, and purely happy, and how there was something in his eyes that made her heart leap. As she watched these scenes of her life fly by, she finally came to understand something that had been true for a long time now.

'Jack…I'm sorry that I realized this too late…and that I'll never get to tell you this…I love you.' She mentally confessed as a single tear slid down her cheek.

"What the?" she heard the vampire speak, thus snapping her back to reality.

Amelia opened her eyes and gasped when she saw that her pendant was glowing brightly. Suddenly, a loud crash was heard and Dracula turned to be met with a fist that sent him flying across the room. He landed with a loud thud against the wall and flopped haphazardly onto the floor.

"Jack!?" the sorceress spoke in surprise, but her eyes widened even more when she found that she could talk again.

"Amelia, are you hurt?" her skeleton savior asked with concern in his voice and his eyes.

"Y-yeah, thanks to you." Her cheeks were splashed with a light pink as she let out a deep breath of relief that she didn't even know she was holding.

He caught her off-guard when he threw his arms around her in a tight hug. This caused her to blush a few shades darker for she was being hugged by the man whom she had just mentally confessed to herself that she held feelings for.

"I was so afraid I was going to lose you." He spoke softly, his voice trembled slightly but only for a brief second.

"Well isn't that touching? It makes me _sick_!" a voice spat.

The two royals moved away from each other and, though she did not notice, Amelia's pendant stopped glowing. They both watched in surprise as Dracula stood up slowly and popped his jaw.

"I did _not_ come this far just to fall again!" He glared murderously at the Pumpkin King and took off at a blinding speed toward him.

**

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**

Ok before you all kill me in your reviews again, I could have made the cliff-hanger a lot worse! I could have cut off right as Jack was about to appear or something like that because yes I am evil ;-) But I decided to be nice to you guys this time lol!

**And before anyone asks, yes the whole "re-arrange Alucard's name to reveal his identity" I got it from Harry Potter....I don't like admiting that because I feel like a theif but I thought it worked out really well. **

**So? What happens _now_ that Jack has arrived to help our distressed sorceress? Will they be able to defeat the extremely powerful vampire that is DRACULA!? *soap opera dramatic* Will Amelia ever tell Jack how she really feels!!?? Stay tuned! **


	24. An Ancient Power Unleashed

**Ok...it's finally here *falls over from exhaustion* Well personally, I didn't really like this chapter. I just don't think it turned out the way I wanted it but then again I've edited the crap out of it and I'm tired of looking at it. So I really need help from the readers when you review. Is there anything I should change? Something I need to improve on? Please let me know, it will be greatly appriciated. **

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Jack evaded his charge, but only barely and was thrown a little off balance. Dracula quickly came back and punched him hard in the chest, causing the skeleton to land with a thud against the ground.

"_Umbra redimio!_"

Suddenly, the vampire felt his arms bound tightly at his sides. A long black shadow had forcefully wrapped itself around him. He hissed and looked to the side to see Amelia with her hands facing toward him and her own silhouette extended on the ground which had been used to bind him.

"How are you able to speak!?" he growled angrily and tore his arms out of the shadow.

He launched himself at her but she swiftly ducked and kicked him in the stomach, causing him to grunt in pain and stumble backwards.

"_Orbis de incendia!_"

Dracula suddenly found himself surrounded on all sides by a ring of fire, but he was able to peer through the flames and saw Jack in a familiar fighting stance, indicating that he had cast the spell. The vampire let out a deep cackle.

"You think this pathetic fire can withhold me?" he sliced his arms through the air which dispersed the flames. "In my former body maybe, but not anymore." He stated as he disappeared into the smoke.

The dark cloud had suddenly grown larger and became thicker until the two sorcerers could barely see their own hands in front of their faces. Amelia covered her mouth and started to cough violently. Her eyes stung and became watery, impairing what little vision she had left. Jack, being a skeleton, was better off and immediately could tell that she was defenseless.

'Oh no.' he thought as he realized just what Dracula was planning.

The Pumpkin King quickly moved in front of Amelia to shield her from any possible attack, but because of the smoke, he wasn't sure where the vampire was going to strike from.

All of a sudden, Jack felt something hit him hard in the back causing him to fall forward. However, he quickly turned his heel just in time to regain his balance and to see who had struck him.

"Amelia!? What are you doing!?" he asked incredulously when he saw her in a fighting stance.

"I'm sorry Jack! It's not me!" she tried to explain but unwillingly launched herself to punch him in the face. However, she narrowly missed for he had stealthily dodged it just in time.

"He's controlling me!" she tried to hold back but to no avail.

"What!? How!?" The skeleton man quickly jumped back to avoid the sudden furious punches and kicks from the sorceress.

Jack had to be fast on his feet in order to avoid all of her advances. He could tell that she was trying to stop herself but her struggles were of no use. He kept side-stepping and dodging, not wanting to defend himself for fear that he might accidentally hurt her.

"Alucard you coward!" Amelia shouted angrily, "Quit using me to fight your own battles! If you're so strong now then why don't you prove it!?"

She suddenly found herself able to control her own movements again and ceased her fighting. But then the two sorcerers' backs were slammed together and neither could move as if some invisible rope had tied itself around them. The smoke began to clear and they heard footsteps nearing them. Dracula stood in front of the sorceress with an angry scowl.

"You will _not_ call me by that worthless name again and nor shall you question my strength!" he ordered.

The Armonia winced in pain as the familiar shock ran throughout her body.

"What have you done to her!?" Jack demanded to know, all the more reason to beat him to a pulp.

"Oh nothing bad really," the vampire chuckled as he nonchalantly sauntered over to the King of Halloween, "just a simple curse that forces her to follow my every command."

He smirked in triumph as the skeleton man gave him a fierce glare full of hatred and his bony hands clenched into fists ready to strike him.

"You will be sorry for _ever_ stepping foot into this town." Jack's eyes narrowed as he growled angrily in a dangerously low, quiet voice. Even Amelia was taken aback by his sudden dark tone.

"_Ohh_, protective are we?" Dracula held his hands up mockingly in defense.

Miraculously, the infuriated Pumpkin King managed to break free of the invisible bonds and swiftly punched the vampire in the face. Then he gave him a sharp uppercut to the jaw, followed by a blow to the stomach, and finally he swung his leg underneath him which caused the vampire to lose his balance and fall over in a heap on the ground. Dracula groaned in pain but was able to stand back up. He growled angrily at his opponent, determined to not be made a fool of.

"You're smarter than you look, which is saying a lot." The vampire spat. "But that's not going to be enough to stop me!"

He moved to punch Jack, who swiftly put his arms up to block, but instead Dracula quickly sliced his hand through the air which called forth a violent wind, almost knocking the skeleton over. Taking advantage of his unbalance, the vampire then swung his leg underneath him, causing the king to fall just like he had done to him earlier.

But Jack quickly got back up as his silhouette discreetly slithered behind the vampire and suddenly shot up, split in two, and each shadowy arm grabbed hold of the enemy's wrists. Dracula tried to break through the bonds but found himself unable to this time. He hastily glanced to the side and noticed that Amelia had used the same spell to reinforce the strength of the shadows. She had even split her silhouette into four to wrap around his ankles as well as his arms. Needless to say he was trapped.

"There's no where left to run, you vile, second-rate, worthless excuse of a vampire." The Pumpkin King growled angrily with such a vicious glare, that it if looks could kill, Dracula would have been dead in an instant.

"So that pathetic sorceress over there is actually that _close_ to you? I never would have guessed." The captive smirked, flashing his sharp fangs, knowing he had hit a soft spot in his pride.

"Why you!" Jack was about to throw a punch at him when Amelia beat him to it.

She had hit her now ex-boyfriend hard in the face and probably broke his nose. The tall skeleton stumbled back a few steps and looked at her with a bewildered expression.

"Sorry, he made me mad!" she said and then grabbed the vampire by the collar, her eyes fuming with hatred.

There was a brief glimpse of fear in his expression, but it was replaced almost instantly with his normal smug look.

"And just what do you think you can do to me?" he asked, his broken nose already beginning to heal.

"_Incendia_!" she shouted.

There was an abrupt burst of light in his face, causing him to hiss in pain. He clenched his eyes shut, but they shot open when he felt a severe burning sensation on his stomach. The light was gone from his face and Amelia's fist was surrounded by a bright flame that had been punched into his abdomen.

"AHH!!!" he screamed from the intensity of the burn. Jack had even jumped back in shock, and possibly even in slight fear, when the sorceress had unleashed her fury.

The vampire yelled even more in pain when she pushed even further. She finally removed her hand from him and his head hung as he seemed about to collapse if it weren't for the shadows that still held him up. Jack called off the binds around him and Dracula fell to his knees clutching his stomach and flopped onto the floor on his back. Amelia smirked in triumph as she put her hands on her hips, but then his hand suddenly gripped around her ankle and pulled her to the ground.

The Pumpkin King made a dash over to them but fell backwards when he collided with something hard. He shook his head and opened his eyes as quickly stood up to try and run toward them again, but there was something _invisible_ that was blocking him. He pushed his hands against it and found that it was a shield that Dracula must have put up just before he grabbed Amelia. Jack's fist became surrounded by a dark shadow as he started punching at the force field.

"_Laedo_!" he cried over and over trying to break the invisible wall. "_Laedo_!"

"Never knew you could be so unforgiving." Dracula said to the young royal while he clutched his abdomen and staggered a little as he got back up on his feet.

"Get up." He ordered and stood up straight as his wounds miraculously began to mend themselves.

The unwelcome surge of electric shocks ran through the sorceress, forcing her to stand. He brought his hand up and smacked her hard across the face with such a force that she collapsed back onto the ground.

"Don't you dare touch her again!" Jack shouted angrily as he stopped trying to break the shield momentarily, but his words went ignored.

"I said get up!" Dracula ordered.

Again, she had no choice but to obey. He then roughly gripped her chin and made sure that they were both in plain sight of the Pumpkin King who continued hastily to break through the invisible wall.

"Never again will you attack me!" The vampire commanded fiercely, sending the familiar painful sensation throughout her body as she winced from the torture.

"Now, if we don't complete the spell soon then I will revert back to my old form." He stated as he leaned in closer to her, "We don't want that to happen now do we?" he taunted more or less to Jack than to Amelia just to make him even more angry.

His hand moved away from her chin and then he tightly gripped her shoulders. He gazed into her eyes one last time, which were conflicted with emotions from hatred to grief.

"Hold still." He said, and of course the electric shock forced her to do so. Dracula leaned closer to her neck and hissed as he exposed his sharp fangs.

"Amelia no!" Jack shouted in terror, but then he felt his furious rage take its hold again and he punched the shield one last time.

"_**Laedo**_!!" he yelled as he struck it with all the force he could muster.

This time, the wall glistened a little before it shattered into thousands of tiny fragments, then disappeared completely for the spell was finally broken. Dracula made the mistake of pausing to see what had happened because then he was knocked away from the sorceress by a swift kick from Jack. Before he was about to fall, the vampire used his quick reflexes to back flip and land safely on his feet, then turn toward his opponent. He made a lightning fast dash toward him, as did The Pumpkin King. The two were now sprinting at blinding speeds toward one another, each ready to silence the other for good.

Amelia couldn't do anything for she was forced to obey the vampire's command. All she could do was watch helplessly as Jack Skellington and the infamous Dracula were about to kill each other.

Suddenly, time seemed to stop for the distressed sorceress, though oddly enough, she found that everything had apparently frozen around her yet she could still move. But even more strange, her pendant began to glow once again, however she had paid no mind to it.

"Jack?" she walked up to the said unmoving skeleton man in mid-run.

She waved her hand in front of his face. Nothing.

"Jack!" she said louder, hoping to knock him out of the weird trance.

But then, her pendant levitated itself out in front of her as it shone even brighter. A bright blue beam shot out of it and the strange light took the form of a young girl. The figure materialized more, though it seemed rather ghostly. The pendant slowly lowered back down but still shone brightly as ever.

Amelia was now standing in front of what looked like her own reflection. It was Elizabeth Brave who appeared before the startled sorceress with an eerie, misty azure glow about her.

"The Gem of the Armonias has once again been awakened and its power unleashed." She gently spoke.

"_Awakened_? But how?" She questioned her ancestor, slightly confused by her words as well as her odd, sudden appearance.

Elizabeth moved to stand next to her descendent and simply stared at Jack.

"Wait…is this because…" the young sorceress pointed at him and a pink blush crept across her cheeks.

"He has captured your heart, hasn't he?" the Victorian asked as she turned to her, and smiled in amusement when she received a look of embarrassment from the young sorceress.

"When he neared you after the revelation of your true feelings, the stone activated." She explained. "Now you have gained the ability to control the ancient power of the Armonias."

"Th-that sure is a strange way to go about releasing 'ancient power'" Amelia stated sheepishly, the light blush still present on her face.

"I will restore time and you must use the gem to fight against…" she paused and her eyes narrowed as she turned toward the frozen vampire.

"_Him_." Her voice was laced with obvious hatred.

"But how can I do that!? I _can't_ fight!" the young sorceress tired to tell her ancestor the problem at hand.

Elizabeth turned back to face her, her once bitter expression now replaced with a happier one as a small smile graced her lips.

"I know you can do it Amelia. You have the strength of generations of sorcerers behind you."

With that, the Victorian Armonia closed her eyes and transformed into the foggy blue mist like when she first appeared, and then was absorbed back into the blue gem.

Like she had said, time was returned to normal and Jack was able to make his attack before Dracula could. He sliced his hand through the air away from him and the vampire was thrown against the wall by an unseen force. The dark lord slid to the floor and just as he was standing back up to launch another attack, they both heard…

"_Orbis carcer_."

Dracula suddenly became engulfed in a blue orb which slowly began to shrink. The more he struggled, the less space there was left in the sphere.

Jack turned and stumbled back in surprise at what he saw. Then he spoke softly in astonishment.

"A-Amelia…?"

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**Yeah I know, I know. Another cliff-hanger. I had a great ending for this chapter honestly but if I put the rest in, it would have been 8 pages long on Microsoft Word and with it, the chapter just seemed rushed to me. So I cut it out and it'll be in the next chapter so you're not missing out on anything lol! **

**--Please Read This--**

**I'm asking for help on this chapter. I just don't think it came out to well, but then again I've read this thing so many times I could probably recite it from memory. I don't really know what's wrong with it, but it just didn't come out right in my opinion. If you guys could please tell me in your reviews anything that you noticed, something that might help me, something that needs to be changed, etc. I really would like constructive criticism on this. **

**And one more thing, about the next chapter. There's going to be a change in Amelia's appearance, but I can't decide on how much I should change. Should she have a "costume change" because now she has activated the Gem of the Armonias? Or should it be something simple like she being surrounded by a blue glow? If anything, please tell me what you think in your review! **

**Thank you all SO much! And thanks for being patient with me...I really appriciate it :) **


	25. The Gem of The Armonias

**Phew!!! Finally finished!! Sorry for the long wait guys...this chapter was causing major problems for me *sweatdrop* Heh heh...yeah...I'm going to need your opinions on this. For me it just seemed kind of rushed but I don't know if that's just me or the fact that TNAB is almost over *cries* By the way, I knooooow this thing seems to be taking forever to end and I'm really sorry about that! I shouldn't have added so many chapters. My original plan was just 20. Ha! Well look were THAT got me! Well hopefully there's only just a few left...if I actually stick to the rest of my outline. **

**Well, enjoy and please tell me your opinion in your review!**

**P.S.** **Also, as you will see, costume change won the vote! I hope you guys like it!**

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Amelia levitated above the ground, no longer in her masquerade costume but in a short-sleeved, pale blue dress that came down below her knees. The sleeves were a thin, silver, see-through material and split down the side. Around her waist was a ribbon tied into a bow in the back also made of the same silver cloth. The ribbon's loose ends were long and came down almost to her feet, which were in a pair of simple, silver, closed toe flats. Her hair was done up in a ponytail with a few strands of her dark blonde hair framing her face. The royal crown around her head had been replaced with a normal silver circlet. The transformed sorceress had an eerie blue glow surrounding her. The pendant that hung from her neck shone brightly with the same azure color and, oddly enough, so did her eyes.

Jack gazed up at her in absolute shock and awe. He knew something drastic must have happened to trigger such a transformation. Immediately, he recognized that her magical strength had increased immensely, he could even see it radiating off of her. He snapped out of his daze, looked from her to the vampire and recognized just what sort of spell she had used to imprison him.

'The Orbis Carcer!? Only a master sorcerer could cast such a powerful spell!" The skeleton man turned back to Amelia and made the assumption that the astonishing power of the Armonias was most definitely involved.

"What!?" the vampire shouted in disbelief from inside the orb. "How is this possible!? How were you able to go against my command!?"

"Never again will you control me, nor take another victim." She faced the palm of her hand toward him. She took a deep breath, and began to sing.

"_Animus signum lux lucis_…" The eerie blue light around her body intensified as she cast the spell.

Dracula's body began to glow a bright white and he felt an eerily familiar burning sensation overwhelm him. He yelled out in pain as his figure began to alter.

'She is _singing_ the soul sealing spell?' Jack questioned himself before the answer dawned on him. 'That's right! When an Armonia sings a spell, it becomes permanent and cannot be undone!' He had remembered reading about it when he found out about Amelia's bloodline.

The sorceress stopped, the glow around her dimmed, and she let her arm rest at her side. As she did so, the light that had enveloped the vampire died down.

"What!? No!" Dracula opened his eyes and shouted angrily when realized he was now in his previous, weaker form.

'Thanks Elizabeth.' She thought to herself and a small smile graced her lips.

She waved her hand and the sphere began to shrink even more to the point where the vampire had to practically hug his knees in order to not be crushed.

'I don't understand! Why isn't my curse working!?' he thought bitterly and then glanced at the brightly shining stone around her neck. 'Of course! That accursed Gem of the Armonias has been activated again!'

He then glanced at her wrist where the piece of jewelry he had given her was still bound. The silver roses were still glowing red albeit very dimly.

'So if the bracelet isn't affecting her anymore…' He then smirked. 'Then it's time to kick it up a notch.'

"_Autus_." He muttered. When he saw the jewelry begin to glow even brighter, he yelled out a command.

"Cease your treachery!"

The sorceress let out a yelp of pain as she fell to the floor on her knees.

"Amelia!" Jack hastily knelt down by her side.

The rose bracelet's light was a fierce, sinister, angry red color and the electric shock continued to course throughout her body but the intensity this time was far worse. The glow from her pendant began to dim as her eyes returned to normal. Jack immediately recognized the source of the curse so grabbed her wrist and tried to pull the silver bracelet off.

"Pathetic." Dracula sneered as she stood up. The orb around him had also begun to dim and enlarge as well. "You can't take it off her for only _I_ can!"

"We'll see about that." Jack grumbled angrily as his hand gripped harder around the piece of jewelry and then he gave a hard, forceful yank.

The rose bracelet finally came off and shattered into a million pieces. The pain that had been coursing through Amelia finally ceased.

"What the!?" the vampire shouted in disbelief. Even more to his dismay, the blue sphere regained its hold and began to shrink again.

The Armonia's pendant began to glow brightly as did the rest of her body like before. Though her eyes remained normal, her strength and power was fully restored. She stood slowly and turned her attention toward the captive vampire in the blue orb.

"I can see that sealing your soul within your weaker body isn't going to be enough." She glared, "I think it's time to close you off from the rest of the world for all eternity!"

"And how do you propose to do that?" Dracula spat, still keeping up his haughty attitude.

"I believe the _Entrapment_ spell would work well for our situation." Jack stated as he crossed his arms, "Though it requires two sorcerers. What do you say Amelia?" he asked with a grin.

"You bet." She said to him and smiled in determination. The Armonia's eyes regained their mystifying blue glow and the light around her intensified.

The two Halloween royals faced the captive vampire and they each outstretched a hand toward him.

"_Laqueus is animus intra a sigillum_!" they shouted in unison.

"NO!!!" Dracula yelled as the orb became brighter until the prisoner within could no longer be seen, and the sphere shrunk even more until it could easily fit into the palm of a hand.

"Where should we put him?" The Pumpkin King asked with a smile.

"I know." The princess snapped her fingers with her free hand and a peculiar object floated out of the room where she was forced to cast the _Soul Release_ spell.

It was a black wooden box with strange, intricate, bronze designs on it and on the lid was a pearl seated in what looked like a raven's black talon. Amelia had noticed it on one of the shelves when she had been inside earlier.

"I like it." The skeleton grinned.

The two sorcerers levitated the white orb over to the pearl on the box.

"_Vomica signum_." They said together.

The white ball of light shrunk down to the size of the gemstone on top of the ornate box and was absorbed into the pearl. It then shone a bright, angry red before dying down back to its original color. The black box then floated over to where Jack stood and landed gently in his hands. Amelia sighed in relief and her eyes returned to their normal color as the eerie glow around her disappeared.

"So where are we going to put it?" She questioned.

"Mmm…I suppose we could always ask the Doctor to lock it somewhere in his lab." Jack pondered, "But I don't see any harm now in keeping it with us. I know there's a place in the tower where I could lock it up and no one will ever get to it."

He put his other hand on his hip, satisfied with his decision. The Pumpkin King snapped his fingers and the box vanished into thin air to reappear in the secret location that only he knew.

"Well I certainly hope that's the end of this little exciting adventure." The sharply dressed skeleton let out a deep breath of exhaustion.

"You said it." Amelia gave a curt nod in agreement.

"But eh…" he raised an eyebrow, a little puzzled. "What are you going to do about that?" he pointed to her new attire.

"Oh yeah…" She laughed nervously and scratched her head, "How am I supposed to change back anyway?"

Suddenly, her pendant began to shine brighter to the point where Jack had to shield his eyes with his hand from the intensity. After a moment, the light faded and he looked back at the young sorceress who now stood back in her normal masquerade costume.

"Well _that_ wasn't weird at all." She said sarcastically.

"What made you…transform like that anyway?" he asked, quirking a would-be eye brow again.

"Oh…well…" she blushed a little, not wanting to explain the entire story.

She avoided his gaze and fiddled with the ends of her sleeves. But her head then quickly turned back to him when an idea hit her.

"It was Elizabeth!" she beamed.

"Eh?" Now Jack was really confused.

"Well you see…she knew I was in danger so she froze time so she could activate this." She held up her pendant. "It's actually the Gem of the Armonias! I think it was what caused me to change when I took in its power so that I could fight."

She paused as her own question popped into her mind.

"How did you manage to get this pendant anyway? Elizabeth told me it was hers and it had been passed down through the generations of Armonias." Amelia pointed out.

"Oh…well I…" he scratched his head sheepishly, "I had it because Marcus Brave gave it to me, believe it or not. It was strange too, he said that he couldn't look at it anymore because it caused him too much grief. He figured I should have it because he knew that Elizabeth was, well, close to me." Jack shrugged as he remembered the odd occurrence.

"So if you knew it was hers…" the sorceress blushed, "then why did you give it to me?"

"Well…" he trailed off a little, "Just to set the record straight, I certainly didn't know it belonged to the Armonia bloodline but…there was this _odd_ feeling I had. And not the good kind." He looked off to the side, "It was like something told me to give it to you, but now I can see that it was for good reason." He turned back to her with a smile.

"That's for sure." she laughed.

The two royals exited the house, never to go back, and made their way across town to the square. There was a question that had been in the back of Jack's mind so he decided to go ahead and get it out.

"Amelia, you never did break up with Alucard err…Dracula did you?"

Her face paled for she had hoped she would have been able to avoid being confronted about it since the vampire was finally gone for good.

"Erm well…not exactly." She sheepishly scratched the back of her head and looked away from the Pumpkin King.

"I'm a little surprised actually. I thought you were one to keep promises." He stated coolly.

She hesitated a moment, not really sure what to say. She avoided his gaze and kept her eyes transfixed on the ground.

"I guess…I have no excuse. But I am truly sorry. I…I honestly don't know what prevented me from doing so." She admitted, a little ashamed. "It was like, something was holding me back and…I couldn't fight it."

"Wait a minute." Jack suddenly came to a stop and crossed his arms. "Are you _sure_ that you couldn't bring yourself to do it because something stopped you?"

"Yes." She had come to a halt and turned to him. "I'm sure it was just my fears, which I really should learn to get over."

"No it wasn't that." He stated, which earned him a very puzzled look from her. "Tell me, when you wanted to break up with him, did you suddenly feel fuzzy? Was it like your mind was in some sort of haze?"

"Actually…yeah." She gave a curt nod.

"Then it's not completely your fault." He gave a half-smile, "Dracula was hypnotizing you."

"Well that explains a lot!" her eyes widened, but she felt rather dense for not realizing it sooner.

"But still, especially after your birthday, you should have had enough control to be able to break the news to him." He pointed out.

"Right…" she looked down again. "Well, I would promise that it will never happen again, but my words must seem pretty worthless now." She managed to meet his gaze.

Jack thought for a moment, narrowing his eyes, but then let out a deep sigh.

"I'll forgive you this time, but it's not something I will forget alright?" he looked her straight in the eyes to make sure she understood.

"Absolutely." She gave a curt nod in agreement extremely grateful to whatever caused such a miracle.

They began their walk toward the square again in a comfortable silence, but Amelia still felt that there was something she needed to say.

"Thank you Jack." She smiled.

He was just slightly taken aback by her appreciation, but it didn't show as he smiled warmly back at her.

As they neared the town square, they both heard an all too familiar voice ring out.

"It's time for the awards!" a stout man with a tall top hat on the platform near the center of the square declared through his megaphone.

"Ugh." Both sorcerers groaned, not looking forward to the boring event ahead.

"Must he do this _every_ year?" Amelia asked.

"Yes…it's another one of the _traditions_ that are always kept up." Jack crossed his arms, a little irritated.

"So…then you wouldn't mind if we skipped the awards?" she asked curiously.

He turned toward her with one eye socket elongated, indicating that he had raised an eyebrow.

"I take it you have something else in mind?" he asked.

"There's one more thing that we still need to do." She smiled and started off in the direction toward his house. The Pumpkin King watched her for a moment with a puzzled expression before following suit.

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**I ask for so much from you guys and you have no idea how eternally thankful I am to all of you!!! Now I'm just asking one more, small, thing. Just tell me your opinion of this chapter. I thought it might have been a little rushed but that could just be me. Helpful critique encouraged!!! Thank you so so much!**


	26. Elizabeth Brave

**Hey everyone! So so so so enternally sorry for the long wait! For the _longest_ time I had a really bad case of writer's block, as I explained in some of my replies. I finally got out of the slump but even once I had finished the chapter, it just didn't seem quite right. So I want to give a big HUGE THANK YOU to elizemail who was basically my beta reader (editor) for this chapter! You helped me out soooo much thank you!!! **

**Well, in other news, there are offically two chapters left after this one. The last chapter and the epilogue is what I mean. Yes I know *sob* It's coming to an end...BUT keep those heads up because I have a very important message in my author's note at the end of the NEXT chapter! **

**-Mystic Spirit Angel**

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Amelia led Jack down the all-too familiar path into the cemetery. The Armonia sorceress came to a stop at an old tombstone, and he immediately recognized it. It was the same grave she had cried her heart out from fear when she was but a little nine year-old girl. The exact place where they first met. Now, she kneeled before it and gently brushed her fingers against the name which had been worn away over time.

"Jack, exactly when did Elizabeth die?" she finally spoke as she put her hands in her lap and looked up to him.

"How could I forget? It was Christmas Eve 1853." He responded grimly.

"Then this is her grave." She returned her gaze to the tombstone.

"What!?" he exclaimed in surprise. "But how can that be?"

"I don't know…" Amelia shook her head, "But the initials on here are E. B. and they lived for only sixteen years with 1853 as the death year, so it must be her. I think this is how she was able to communicate with me in this world because her spirit took its rest here." She explained, though unsure if what she assumed was correct. She stood up and turned toward the sharply dressed skeleton.

"Jack, Elizabeth did seal her soul away the night she died." The sorceress stated a little solemnly. "She sealed herself into my family's mirror, which is where I first saw her."

He then remembered the day she talked to him about the strange ghost in the mirror that seemed to have been following her, only to find out the next day that it was Elizabeth.

"And this is why I brought you here. I need your help to free her." She said with a smile.

Jack's face lit up with such happiness that she thought he was about to shout with joy.

"Amelia I…Of course!" he exclaimed with glee.

The sorceress giggled then held out her hands and closed her eyes. Her pendant began to glow as she mumbled a spell.

"_Transporto mihi speculum_."

A ball of blue light surrounded her hands and continued to grow brighter. After a moment, it died down and in her hands was a very old, silver hand mirror with elegantly crafted ornate designs on it. The Armonia opened her eyes and then held the mirror to where she could see her reflection.

"Elizabeth? Are you there?" she asked as Jack moved to stand beside her.

The glass became foggy and Amelia's reflection disappeared, but soon out of the haze came the face of a young woman. The sorceress's double, distinguished only by the length and color of the image's dark brown hair.

"Amelia! Jack! Oh, thank heavens you are both safe." Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, thanks to you." Her descendant beamed with gratitude.

"Dracula is sealed away and gone for good." Jack declared proudly. "And best of all, it's high time that you were set free." He smiled, happy to be the one to inform her of the good news.

The Victorian gasped in pleasant surprise as a smile graced her gentle features.

"Thank you…Thank you both so much." She said gratefully and a single tear slid down the side of her delicate face.

Amelia and Jack looked to each other and nodded. The sorceress levitated the mirror in front of them and her pendant began to glow brighter yet. The two spell casters faced their palms toward the mirror and stated the incantation together.

"_Lux lucis phasmatis solvo_."

The glass began to shine a blinding, bright white and beams of the light shot out of it. But soon, the spectacle died away and standing before the two sorcerers was an elegant young lady of about sixteen years in a black and white Victorian style dress. Her hair was dark, wavy, and hung loosely around her shoulders. Her kind eyes of ocean blue were filled with happiness as was her gentle smile. The only thing that separated her from the living was the fact that her body was transparent and a faint white glow surrounded her.

The levitating hand mirror then slowly descended into Amelia's hands and her pendant's glow diminished.

"I'm actually free…" Elizabeth breathed as she looked at her palms, then glanced up to the people whom she was now eternally grateful to. "Thank you oh so much! Please, if there is _anything_ I could do to repay you." She clasped her hands together for emphasis.

"Oh no there's no need!" Jack insisted as he took a step toward her. "Seeing you again is reward enough in itself." He said softly. Had he any skin, a light blush probably would have spread across his face. The spirit laughed and it was like a sweet memory being relived in his eyes.

"But Elizabeth…" Amelia began hesitantly. "There are a few things I would like to ask you."

"Of course, anything at all." The Victorian agreed. "I'm certain you have some questions about the Armonias, correct?"

"Yeah." The sorceress gave a curt nod.

"Which reminds me, I almost forgot." The ancestor held out her hand and a blue orb materialized. The orb became disfigured but formed into a rather familiar looking shape. Finally, in her hand rested Amelia's brown leather spell book with the emerald jewel encircled by white crystals on the cover.

"You might want this." Elizabeth levitated it over to her descendent.

"How did you get it from Alucard!?" She gasped in shock.

"I didn't. It was still back in his residence so I was able to simply use a spell to bring it here." Her ghostly image spoke. "You will need it for it is the Book of the Armonias."

"That explains why it looks different from Dr. Finklestein's!" Then Amelia lightly smacked her forehead. "Oh duh! That's why our family tree was in there."

"Yes indeed." Elizabeth confirmed. "It is also why the book _recognizes_ you. Remember when you first received it? How it magically wrote your name on the front page?" When she received a nod in reply she continued, "It was because it sensed the Armonia bloodline within you. Otherwise when you copied the book, it would have looked just like the original."

"What's exactly in it that makes it so different?" the young sorceress questioned.

"That spell book contains extremely powerful incantations and rituals. It is an amazing power beyond belief." The spiritual girl explained. "Also, now that you have activated The Gem of the Armonias, you can access your true powers as a sorceress."

"Why was so much power sealed in the pendant anyway?" Amelia asked a little puzzled.

"It is because the Armonian power is the strongest of all sorcery bloodlines, but a young sorcerer would not be able to contain it or even control it without proper training first." Elizabeth stated. "So this way you do not inherit the power the moment you are born. Instead, you receive it in the form of a gemstone that can only be activated once sixteen years in an Armonia's life has passed. It also ensures the safe protection of the true potential behind each sorcerer until they are ready to take it and defend it on their own."

"Wait, did any of this have to do with why Alu…I mean Dracula, killed you?" The princess asked.

"Actually, yes and the mere fact that I was an Armonia played a major role in my death…and this is something you both deserve to know." The ancestor looked solemnly at the ground. "As you know, Dracula was power-hungry. It was all he wanted and nothing more. I assume that he had heard of the great strength of the Armonia sorcerers so he learned everything about them. That way, he would be able to figure out a way to consume their power and use the spells in the book. Well…" she glanced back up at them, ashamed.

"I was his perfect opportunity. How he found out about my heritage, I do not know. But unfortunately he did and easily swayed me to become, what you would call now, his girlfriend. Our relationship was kept secret for he hypnotized me into keeping it that way, and to follow his every command. But then something, shall I say, got in the _way_ of his plan to drain my soul and absorb my powers."

"What was that?" Amelia asked curiously.

"It was you, Jack." Elizabeth looked toward him and saw the surprised expression come across his features.

"Me!?" he pointed to himself in disbelief.

"Yes, in truth…I had developed feelings for you." The Victorian admitted, and turned her head to avoid his gaze. "But I never had the courage to approach you about it for I thought that one of high society like you would never even consider a lower class girl like myself."

"That's not true at all!" He approached her, but then stopped and looked off to the side with a similar solemn expression. "I felt the same way."

"I know that now." She looked up at him with a sad smile, "But unfortunately, I didn't know then." Her somber look returned as she continued with what had happened.

"Dracula's control over me began to slip, but it seems that luck was on his side. At the time my mother died, he knew how deep in grief I was and knew that I would take every chance I had to see her. He realized that whatever was blocking his control over me would be greatly hindered." She looked back up to Amelia. "And that's when he decided he would make his strike. Amelia, that dream you had of my death, I purposely used a spell so you could see. I was trying to warn you for I knew he would stop at nothing to undo the curse I had put upon him before I died. And to gain the power he still desired so greatly."

Elizabeth then walked to stand in front of her descendent with a serious, yet almost regretful expression.

"I must also admit that it was my voice you heard that night when you were in this cemetery, and it was me whenever you heard someone whisper your name when you were alone with him." She said, and then a more ashamed expression crossed her soft features, "And…it was also I who caused the illusion to break during the ceremony tonight."

"What!?" Amelia took a step back in shock. "Why!? Why did you do that!?"

"I only wanted to get you away from him! To get out of danger. I knew…" she sighed sadly, "I knew what was going to happen. That's what I tried to warn you about it before when I materialized in the mirror in your room. But I could not tell you that it was he who would betray you for you would never believe me if I had."

It was Amelia's turn to feel ashamed for not heeding her persistent warnings.

"I also knew that the people of Halloween Town would accept you no matter what." Elizabeth said with a smile, "Your loyalties to them could never go unnoticed. Not to mention that if the Pumpkin King trusts you though you are human, then most certainly you would be welcomed back."

"So, you planned all of this?" the sorceress's eyes widened in surprise as she started to fully understand everything.

"In a way, yes I did." Her Armonian predecessor gave a curt nod. "It is even why my soul waited here for you, but also used the silver mirror as a gateway to you in the human world. All I wanted was for you to be safe, away from that dreaded vampire." Then her lips curved into a warm, gentle smile.

"Yet, even though that part of the plan failed," she then glanced at Jack, "you both managed to do what I should have done more than a century ago."

Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the sky and all three turned around. Elizabeth immediately knew what it was.

"It seems that my time on this earth has finally come to an end." She then turned toward the Pumpkin King.

"Jack thank you for not holding onto the past. Had you not...I do not think you ever would have arrived to Halloween Town in the first place. You never would have met Amelia, nor been able to save her life like you did." She said with a grateful smile. "Thank you."

She then wrapped her arms around him, much to his surprise, but he gladly returned the embrace. However, a deep sorrow overcame him for he knew that this would probably be the last time he would ever get to see his old love.

"I am very glad I got the chance to see you again, and uncovered the truth about what really happened all those years ago." He said and gave a small half-smile, still with slight remorse in his expression. "And Elizabeth I just want you to know…that even after your death, I still loved you." He felt as though if he said anymore, his voice would surely break. He felt her arms tighten around him.

"As did I, Jack." She said softly.

Amelia watched the two and a feeling of relief washed over her. She too was glad that they found out the truth behind Elizabeth's death, and that Jack was getting the opportunity that neither of them ever thought he would have. But as she watched their moment, a small pain struck within her heart. She felt as though she was about to shatter in a thousand pieces. It took her a moment before she realized that she felt rather envious of the two.

'How could you be so selfish…' she scolded herself mentally. 'It's an unrequited love that's finally coming to a happy ending, so that means you should be happy too.'

And in truth she was, very much so, but the feeling was still there and she felt guilty about it. Finally, Jack reluctantly released Elizabeth. The spirit walked over to where the Princess of Halloween stood, unknowingly knocking the young sorceress out of her daze.

"Amelia, there is still a long journey before you. But I know that you will triumph over all obstacles that you will face." Elizabeth spoke with certainty, "And I know that Jack will always be at your side, no matter what the consequences." She said with a confident smile. "Also, if ever you need to speak to me, know that I am always with you."

"But how can you be so sure?" the young royal questioned with uncertainty.

"There are just some things that a fellow Armonia knows." The Victorian winked. "Take care Amelia, you still have your whole life ahead of you but do not worry. One day, you will become a most powerful sorceress…and possibly something more."

"Wait…What do you mean by that?" the princess asked and arched an eyebrow in confusion.

All she got in response from her ancestor was a well-knowing smile. But just before Elizabeth was about to walk away, toward the light in the sky, she whispered so that only Amelia could hear.

"Look in the mirror."

With that, the Victorian spirit turned and slowly ascended into the sky. She waved goodbye to the two of them before her body began to glow so brightly that they could no longer make out her figure in the brilliance. She then dispersed into thousands of tiny orbs of light that then floated up into the bright opening in the night sky. The gateway then closed and vanished from sight.

After a moment, Amelia turned to Jack who was still staring up where the light had been. His eyes were distant and his expression was remorseful. But then the edges of his mouth curved into a half-smile, happy that the dear Elizabeth Brave would finally rest in peace.

"Quite a night, no?" he said finally and looked toward his heir to the throne.

"Oh yeah, one I'm never going to forget." She beamed.

"Me neither." He flashed his signature grin and held out his hand to her. "What do you say we head home?"

She blushed slightly, but then she gave a graceful smile, similar to that of her ancestor's, and gently took his offered hand.

"I'd like that."

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**Ok, that's it for this chapter! And for those of you who didn't read my author's note in the beginning, please go back and read it. It has some important information. Thank you all so much! **


	27. A Bittersweet Goodbye

**So so so so so so sorry for the belated update!!! These last few weeks have been hectic for me school wise...both grades and your overly-exaggerated teenaged soap opera drama. Needless to say, it's been pretty crappy. But hey to make up for it, this is THE LONGEST chapter in the entire story!!! So read and enjoy! :)**

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The King and "Queen" had approached the square and lo and behold, the Mayor frantically ran up to them with his face turned to its "worried" side.

"Jack! Amelia! Oh thank goodness you're back! But where did you go!?" he asked in a panic. "The whole town is worried that something happened to you!"

"Well we…" realizing that they couldn't possibly reveal what had actually happened, Jack tried to quickly think of a cover story. However, Amelia was prepared and beat him to it.

"We were wishing our horrible friend Alucard a most terrible goodbye." She beamed. Receiving a confused look from the elected official, she explained. "To put it simply, he was homesick. He missed his home in France dearly and felt he had to return. We were merely helping him to be on his way and wish him goodbye."

"Oh, I see." The Mayor's head rotated to its "happy" side and grinned brightly at the two of them. "Well I'm sorry he had to leave on such short notice, you all missed a wonderful award ceremony."

Simultaneously, the two Halloween royals snapped their fingers and said. "Darn."

"But you are just in time for the last award to be given! The best Halloween costume!" the stout man proclaimed with glee, oblivious to their dreadful expressions. Reluctantly, Jack and Amelia followed the joyous man, dragging their feet.

Once back in the square, the Mayor happily bounded up onto the platform where a podium was and grabbed his megaphone. Ironically enough, when he was handed the judges decision so he could announce the winner, it was Jack's name that he called out as he read aloud.

Amelia giggled as the sharply dressed skeleton sheepishly walked up onto the platform and accepted the award. It was quite a funny sight to see the Mayor grab a bench and stand on his tip-toes to place the medal around the tall king, who even bowed his head to help the stout man. He was finally able to place the mischievously grinning Jack-o-Lantern medallion around his neck. Jack stood back up to his full height and faced the crowd, who in turn burst out into thunderous applause and cheers. He waved to them and gave his signature grin before stepping down off the platform so the Mayor could officially close the Halloween Celebration.

It was late, around midnight, when the two royals finally returned home and got ready for some much needed sleep. Amelia had changed out of her masquerade costume, into her nightgown, and now waited in Jack's room for said skeleton to return. She had come up to wish him goodnight and also because she had never truly thanked him for saving her life, but found him gone once she walked inside. She sat on the edge of his bed and gazed out the window into the starry night. Her mind replayed all that had happened to her, and in just one day! But the moment that really stood out the most was a rather unlikely one.

She remembered vividly her dance with Jack and she gave a sigh in content. To her at least, the moment could not have been more perfect even if she had been taking dance lessons her whole life. She closed her eyes and relived the memory in her mind. The music, his guidance, his grace, his smile, and how they both momentarily forgot where they were until the crowd started cheering. She had felt safe and completely at ease with him. She had been truly happy. It was as though all of their troubles and worries just melted away so they could live in that one single moment in time.

Before she knew it, she had lied down on his bed, rested her head on his pillow, and succumbed to the precious deep sleep that always seemed to elude her.

A few moments later Jack strolled in, wearing his nighttime attire, softly humming 'This is Halloween' to himself while adjusting his long nightcap. But he suddenly came to a stop and ceased his quiet song when he saw the slumbering sorceress on his bed. He crossed his arms and smiled, trying to contain the laugh that threatened to escape.

'Well I suppose I shouldn't blame her after all she's been through tonight.' He thought to himself and quietly walked over to her.

He curiously peered at her sleeping form. Her expression was soft and serene and she looked absolutely peaceful, the kind of slumber he knew she hadn't had in quite sometime. He just didn't have the heart to wake her.

'I suppose this one time wouldn't hurt.' He told himself mentally, chuckling quietly.

As carefully and silently as possible, Jack pulled up the covers over her. He smiled and leaned down slightly to whisper gently in her ear.

"Goodnight my little Ami."

And with that, he turned and quietly made his way across the room to the spiral staircase. Zero appeared next to him with his usual, happy, ghostly smile. Jack held his index finger to his mouth and gave a quiet _shh, _then pointed to the sleeping Amelia. The ghost dog's expression lit up even more as he noticed his friend and silently floated over to her. Zero curled up beside her on the other pillow and nestled down to go to sleep. Jack chuckled softly to himself, remembering a very familiar scene from when the young sorceress was only nine. Finally, he turned away and quietly descended down the spiral stairwell.

The morning's Jack-o-Lantern sun shined warmly through the windows of the tower. The beams slowly filled the room with light and gently touched the sleeping girl's serene form. The ghost dog next to her twitched its long floppy ears before it tiredly raised its head and gave a big yawn. Zero blinked a little as he got used to the morning's bright rays, but he perked up more when he heard a soft grumble from the slumbering sorceress. The sun warmed her body, beginning to wake her up. After a while, Amelia reluctantly cracked an eye open, carefully soaking in the light as sleep gradually left her.

"Nnnn…it's morning…" she mumbled and rubbed the remainder of sleep out of her eyes, but then abruptly stopped.

"It's _morning_!?" She hastily sat up straight, clutching the blanket and looked down. She immediately realized that she had fallen asleep in Jack's bed. A bright red blush crept across her face and she quickly threw off the covers, jumping out and onto her feet.

"_Eh_!!?? What happened!? Who? When? How? Why am I in here!?" her words were jumbled together, practically incoherent. But her memories from the night before came rushing back to her and then she finally managed to form a sentence properly.

"Where's Jack!?"

She hurried down the stairs, down the hallway, and made a few turns before skidding to a stop in the living room. She quickly glanced around and saw that he wasn't asleep on the couch or any of the chairs. So then, she decided to check the kitchen to see if for some odd reason he was up and making breakfast.

'Stranger things have happened.' She thought to herself as she looked, but he wasn't there either.

She ran back down the hallway and quietly opened the doors to several rooms to check, but he was still no where to be found. Even more confused and about ready to give up, she made her way back to her own room and opened the door. She nearly fell over at the sight she saw.

There in her bed, Jack was sleeping while comically snoring loudly, and curled up with her teddy bear in his arms.

Amelia put her hand over her mouth and clutched her stomach as she tried to contain her laughter. A few snickers managed to escape, but she finally regained her composure and strolled over to him.

"Wakey, wakey Jacky." She whispered. When she only got a reluctant grunt in response, she said it again in a soft, sing-song voice. "Wakey, wakey Jacky."

One of his eyes opened a little with an annoyed expression, but then they both snapped open wide when he realized that it was Amelia who was staring at him. He shot upright with a flustered expression, not noticing that he still held the stuffed bear close to him in one hand.

"A-A-Amelia!? I-I uh…Wh-what's going on?" he stuttered awkwardly.

The teenaged girl finally burst out laughing and clutched her stomach as she pointed at him.

"What? What's so funny?" he asked, a little irked that he didn't know what she found to be so amusing.

"Did my itty-bitty teddy bear keep away the big-bad nightmares Jacky?" she taunted in a child-like voice with her hands behind her back, putting on an innocent façade. But it shattered when she went into another fit of giggles.

He finally realized what was happening and had he had any blood, it would have all rushed up to his face from embarrassment. He quickly let go of the bear and climbed out of her bed.

"Knock it off…" he finally said to her, a little put out that she was still laughing, "It wasn't _that_ funny…"

"Oh but it was." She sang again, still snickering.

He clenched his hands into fists and grumbled in annoyance while lowering his head. "Here I do you a favor by not waking you up last night and _this_ is how you repay me?" he crossed his arms. "I am hurt by your cruelty." He mocked the expression of having his feelings hurt.

"Well you should have thought twice before choosing to sleep in my room." She retorted and crossed her arms as well.

"I do believe I should remind you that this is _my_ house." He glowered as he leaned closer to her.

"I do believe I should remind _you_ that you were sleeping in a _girl's_ room, snuggled up to a _teddy bear_." She put her hands on her hips and smirked with pride knowing that she had won.

"You certainly do have a sharp tongue." He said as he dropped his fisted hands to his sides, though ready to accept defeat. But then a thought entered his head and his mouth curved into an evil smirk as he too put his hands on his hips.

"Though as King of Halloween Town, at least _I'm_ not afraid of an itty bitty spider."

Her face fell in shock, but then she growled in annoyance and glared up at him. "As the Daughter of Fright, as least _I'm_ not easily scared when someone sneaks up behind me. Unlike a certain _master_ I know." She taunted.

"Pumpkin Princess."

"Scaredy Skeleton!"

"Vampire lover."

Amelia gaped, absolutely appalled. "You take that back!" she jabbed her finger at him.

"Mmm…nope." He grinned at her. "Sorry, but it wasn't _I_ who fell _hopelessly_ in love with the person bent on killing me." He jeered with a cheeky grin.

"Jack Skellington I swear I'll—!"

"Oh would you look at the time, best be off!" The skeleton man quickly turned on his heel and darted out the room, snickering to himself.

Amelia quickly ran to the door frame and yelled after him. "I swear I'll kill you! And I don't care if you're already dead!"

She heard him laugh louder, but then he dashed up the stairs back into his room. Sighing, she gave up and went back into her own. She crossed her arms and huffed, her face still red from embarrassment, but mostly from anger. She quietly mumbled to herself.

"The nerve of that undead skeleton."

--

Amelia stood on her balcony, dressed in her normal sorceress garb, her hair in its usual ponytail, circlet crown around her head, and her ever-present blue pendant around her neck. Her cerulean colored eyes gazed into the distance, a serious yet contemplative expression on her face.

"In just three months time I've experienced love, heartbreak, inner turmoil like I would have never imagined, and helped to solve a century and a half year-old murder." She let out a deep breath in exhaustion.

"I found out I'm a real sorceress, my life was threatened because of it, and…I'm falling for an undead skeleton in a pinstripe suit." She put her forehead in her palm, not sure whether to feel happy or embarrassed about the last part.

"I really need to get out more…" She then lifted her head as a thought came to her. "Maybe…I should go home for a while. I really need to that's for sure." Then realization began to set in.

"I have a lot of growing up still left to do. I'm only sixteen and there's my whole life ahead of me, just like Elizabeth said. I guess I need to spend some time away from Halloween Town. I can't just forget about my life in the human world. I have school, friends, and a future I need to focus on…" She stated firmly, albeit a little solemnly.

"But that doesn't mean I won't come back." She looked up to the sky with a bright smile.

Amelia walked back inside her bedroom and glanced at the nightstand next to her bed. On it was the ornately designed, silver hand mirror.

"_Look in the mirror_." Elizabeth's words suddenly rang in her head.

Still confused by her ancestor's parting advice, she walked over to the nightstand and gingerly picked up the family heirloom. Curiously, she gazed at her reflection in the glass, but that was all she saw. It was just herself with a puzzled expression.

'Maybe it's the light?' she questioned herself mentally as she arched an eyebrow. She remembered that each time Elizabeth had appeared it had been at night.

The young sorceress walked back over to her balcony window and closed the thick crimson drapes. Unintentionally, the room became to dark for her to see anything. She sighed in slight annoyance and snapped her fingers. A small flame appeared in her hand and she picked up the mirror to look again. This time however her reflected image became foggy, like the glass had been filled with smoke. But then it began to clear. She gasped in surprise at what, or more precisely _who_ she saw.

"_Jack_?" she breathed in confusion.

He appeared to be in his tower, pacing around the room with his hands behind his back and an extremely nervous expression on his face. He talked to himself but Amelia couldn't hear anything at all. He finally came to a stop and looked at the palm of his skeletal hand. He was holding something rather small, but the sorceress who watched the odd scene before her couldn't tell what it was. Jack then sighed and slipped the object into the inside pocket of his tailcoat. His once anxious expression changed to that of determination as he exited out of the room, down the spiral staircase. The glass became clouded with the eerie smoke once again before dissipating. Amelia once again found herself staring at her own reflected image, wondering what she just saw could have possibly meant. Also, why and how Elizabeth knew that would happen.

--

Later that day, it was a familiar, yet sad scene to both Jack and Amelia as they stood side by side in front of the tree with the wickedly grinning jack-o-lantern shaped door. The young sorceress had her spell book in her hands along with her family's silver mirror, her black music box, and her stuffed teddy bear. She focused on the items in her grasp and a blue orb encircled them. They soon faded away as well as the magical sphere.

"Well that certainly makes my load easier." she laughed.

"So…you are certain that you won't be able to come back for a while?" Jack asked with a sad expression.

"Yeah, I've been gone from my world long enough. I have a lot of catching up to do." She smiled slightly, but her cheerfulness soon disappeared. "And…things are going to be tougher yet for me to visit now that I'm in my second year of high school. I have my future to think about, well my _other_ future I guess I should say."

"Oh? You already have everything planned out for here in this world?" he arched a would-be eyebrow with an amused smile.

"Of course, you said so yourself that when I die I'll become Queen so I'm all set." She laughed. "I have my afterlife all figured out, now I just need to plan the rest of my _living_ life."

Jack couldn't help but laugh as well. "Just when you thought you could get a break."

"I know right?" she shrugged and beamed up at him as she played along. She averted her gaze for a moment before looking back up at him again. "Hey Jack…I never thanked you for saving my life yesterday." She said a little shyly.

"Come now, you know there's no thanks needed." He smiled and waved his hand for emphasis.

"But I have to! If it weren't for you…Well I probably wouldn't be standing here." She said softly, not liking the thought that crossed her mind.

"Yes that is true…and I did promise to protect you did I not?" he put his hands on his hips and arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah I remember now." She laughed, recalling the promise he did in fact make to her shortly after they had met that fateful seven years ago. "But still, thank you." She wrapped her arms around him in a grateful embrace to which he returned.

"Of course, my little Ami." He said reassuringly.

They stood like that for several moments in silence, savoring the moment, for they knew that it would be a few years before they would be able to see each other again.

"Do you promise that you will write?" the Pumpkin King asked after a while.

"As long as you do." The Princess of Halloween responded.

Reluctantly, they released each other and smiled in content. Suddenly, the comfortable silence was broken by an echoing bark that seemed to grow louder. Zero zoomed in and spiraled up around the teenaged sorceress, making her laugh.

"Of course I'll miss you too Zero!" she said once the ghost dog finally stopped and hovered in front of her. Amelia then gave him a small peck on his glowing jack-o-lantern nose. His ghostly grin widened and he gave another happy bark.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye then…" she turned back to the skeleton man, "for now at least."

"Yes, a goodbye for now." He agreed, albeit with a saddened tone.

She opened the door that revealed the inside of the hollow tree and gave one last glance back at her good friend as the mysterious black wind enveloped her. The young sorceress smiled one last heartfelt farewell before the wind lifted her up. Then, Amelia Brave disappeared from sight. The pumpkin shaped door slammed shut as Jack Skellington stood there, silently wishing that the time between now and when she would return again would be shorter than the last.

--

_A soul wanders through a dense forest until she comes upon a circle of tall trees with an odd color of bark. She stands in the center, her figure is transparent. Her long white gown flows in a breeze that is not even there. Her hair that was once in an elegant bun hangs down in loose, messy locks. Her __skin is so pale it's practically white compared to her dark, wavy hair. __She turns toward you and softly, yet loud enough to be heard, she speaks. _

_So now our story has come to a close,_

_Yet you ask, "Who is our mysterious host?" _

_It is I, Elizabeth Brave from beyond the grave. _

_If you think my part is done, _

_You might want to take another look,_

_For I still play a role in this book._

_The next part in this spellbinding story, _

_Is about romance, passion, and tragedy. _

_What happens you ask? I cannot say_

_But I can tell you this: A new adventure is on the way. _

**

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*****Le Gasp* What is this!? A new adventure!? Could it be??? A sequel!!! Yes indeed my friends! My Nightmare Series is in fact a trilogy!!! **

**Let's see, I would like to tell you guys my opinion on this chapter. I really, _really_ liked this one! Especially the part about Jack curled up to Amelia's teddy bear XDDDDD My absolute favorite scene! And for once, I actually like how this chapter turned out. I don't feel like there's something slightly off, or like it's completely wrong. It's a nice feeling and I wish it would happen more XD **

**Just to be clear, there's the epilogue left in the story so THIS IS NOT THE END! Reviews make the world go round! :D**


	28. Epilogue: The Past Returns

***Cue sappy violin music and obnoxious sobbing* Well folks...this is...the end...for TNAB...WAAAHHHH!!! Yes, this is the final installment, the epilogue. Oh how dreadfully sad this day is!!! *violin music stops* Lol! I'm just being over-dramatic with you guys again. But yeah, this is the final chapter...thing. It's very short but extremely important to the sequel! **

**PLEASE READ!!! I HAVE LAUNCHED THE TNAB WEBSITE!!!! Ok now that I have your attention, yes indeed TNAB has a website now! =D Just type thenightmareofameliabrave .webs .com into your address bar (without the spaces) and it will take you straight to it! Also, I'll put a link to it on my proflie. Please bookmark this page or something because this is where I'll post news about the sequel such as updates (or reasons why I'm behind on updating) and sneak previews! It also has a pretty good fanart gallery that I think you will all enjoy! Plus, if any of you have some fanart or a oneshot, just send me an e-mail with it attached and I'll post it on the site! Anyway, I hope you all like it, I made it especially for you readers *big grin* **

**Ok on with the epilogue! **

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So, that's my story! It was one heck of a bumpy ride no doubt. I'm glad that I don't have to lie to an _entire_ town anymore about the fact that I'm human. That makes things so much easier like you wouldn't believe. But that's one problem gone, now I'm facing another.

It's been a few months since the whole Halloween incident, but something…_happened_ on New Year's Eve that needs to be told.

I was attending one of the block parties that were going on in downtown Samhain. It was about an hour until midnight and I was having a great time with my friends like everyone else. But suddenly, my friend Claire tapped me on the shoulder. She's really tall and my age with light brunette hair and green eyes. But she's pretty aloof and laid-back so it greatly caught me by surprise that it was she who was about to tell me something that would absolutely shock me.

"Hey, isn't that the guy Eric you used to like?"

My eyes went wide and my heart stopped as time itself seemed to slow down immensely. I cautiously turned around and my gaze fell upon lovely dark brown eyes, light brown hair, and a boyish face that I would recognize anywhere. It _was_ him. My heart swelled and began to beat rapidly when his gaze met mine. Not even realizing what I was doing, I walked over to him. I was in such a surprised state that I didn't even notice the odd look he was giving me.

"H-hi Eric." I greeted shyly.

"Uh hi…do I know you?"

His words had greatly taken me aback and I felt as though my body had become so fragile that it would shatter into a thousand pieces by a mere gust of wind. But then I thought to myself that maybe he just didn't recognize me.

"It's me, Amelia! Amelia Brave, remember? We grew up together." I desperately tried to jog his memory.

"I'm sorry but I—" his words were cut short by a high pitched, nasally voice.

"Eric! There you are!" A blonde haired, blue eyed girl walked up to him and latched her arms onto his. "I've been looking for you." She said sweetly. "Oh? Who's this?" she asked, noticing me for the first time.

"Listen…Amelia was it? I'm sorry but I think you have me confused for someone else." Eric said, though he just might as well have torn my heart out and ripped it to shreds.

My old love walked off with the blonde beauty, holding hands.

"Who was that girl?" I heard her ask.

"I have no idea." He said.

'He didn't remember me? He _truly_ doesn't remember?' were the thoughts going through my head as I watched the couple walk away.

My soul was shattered and my heart was broken. So I ran. I ran as fast as I could to get away from there, to leave behind my hurt and sorrow. Only later did I find out that Claire and my other friends had called after me to come back but I didn't hear anything save for the sobs that escaped me. Tears cascaded down my face and I just couldn't stop crying.

I don't know how long I was running, but I somehow ended up at the old abandoned house where my old childhood tormentors, John, Trevor, and Cody, had locked me inside six years ago. I dashed around the house and then sprinted into the forest. I stopped somewhere on the path, I'm not sure where, but I took the golden locket out of my pocket that held Eric's picture and threw it as far as I could into the thicket of the woods. I have no idea where it landed because as soon as I chucked it, I ran out and back toward home while tears streamed from my eyes again. Once I arrived I slammed by bedroom door shut, ignoring my mother's concern, and just cried. I hugged my precious teddy bear that Jack gave me and cried until my tear ducts went dry. Eventually, I fell asleep because I don't remember much of what happened after that.

But on that night, I gave up on Eric. I wanted nothing to do with him, and I swore to never promise my heart to anyone ever again. I was tired of heartbreak. I just wanted solitude.

The problem is…I have yet to figure out if the same goes for the only one left close to my heart.

--

_If only Amelia had stayed in the woods just a moment or so longer for she would have heard three distinct voices that giggled in the shadows. The figures gathered around the fallen locket and one picked it up as their laughter grew and rang throughout the chilly night air. _

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Oooooh, what could this mean!? Amelia has given up on Eric once and for all, and love itself pretty much! But what about her feelings for Jack that still remain locked up? Will this stubborn author EVER pair up these two even after all of the constant pleads from all of her readers??? Well, well, well...we'll just have to wait for the sequel now won't we? ;-)

**Ok for those of you who hardly ever read my author notes PLEASE GO BACK UP AND READ ABOUT THE TNAB WEBSITE!!! Oh and reviews make me smile *really big grin* **

**-Mystic Spirit Angel**


	29. Author's Note: Announcement & Contest

**Hey there readers! So yes, TNAB has finally come to an official close. Sad but in the mist of this, there is a ray of light. A contest! Yup! You heard right folks, a contest for the upcoming sequel: **_**The Nightmare of Her Dreams**_

**Ok so here's the deal. In short, Amelia needs a new look. So I'm hosting a costume design contest for a new sorceress outfit she'll wear in the sequel. It will also consist of a casual wear design. Don't worry about artistic ability; I'm not looking for a masterpiece. I'm focusing on design and creativity, so don't worry about how it looks. **

**For more information about the rules and Amelia's description in the sequel, please check out my journal on the TNAB website. It has everything you need to know including how to submit your entry. **

**All entries are due no later than May 31****st****. I've already have one entry, which you can check out in the new photo album in the photo gallery on the website, titled "Contest Entries" Yup, I'll post your entry on the site! **

**Also, the TNAB website is now accepting members! If you become a member, you'll be the first to receive the latest updates concerning the site and the upcoming sequel. You'll also even be the first to know when the sneak peeks are posted! You can sign up to be a member on the home page. **

**So please check out the site and click on the journal tab for more information about the contest! Or just type in the following link into your web browser (without the spaces) **

**http:// thenightmareofameliabrave. webs. com/apps/blog/**

**Thank you all so so so much!!!**

**-Mystic Spirit Angel **

**P.S. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed my story!!! You guys are amazingly awesome, I love you all, and you're the ones who kept me writing! YOU'RE THE BEST!!!! Thank you all so much for your wonderful support, especially when I was going through some rough times. You don't know how much that meant to me. Hugs for everyone! =D**


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